Harry Potter: The Retelling
by Mephyr
Summary: We all have read about the universe in which Harry befriends Ron and Hermione. But today we explore a universe a little bit different. In which a raven haired boy, deeply neglected meets a red haired girl, scorned by her own mother and a blonde, the freak of the society. Three kindred souls bond and set in motion something never seen before. Something that is only found in legends.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Hello my faithful readers, you might want to know what am I doing at the beginning of the story. The thing is, after receiving some complaints (persistant one) I decided to revise the earlier chapters a bit so that I don't have to tell everyone in P.M. Also, I took this chance to completely rewrite the first chapter. The story is still the same though the content has been completely altered. If you want to read then go ahead.**

**And for those new readers, I hope you come to enjoy this story as much as I enjoy writing it.**

Chapter 01 (Revised)

'_Why am I doing this, when I have a whole country to protect?'_

Those were the thoughts of One Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore, as he took an interview for the position of Divination Professor in Hogwarts. Then he remembered, Minerva had scoffed in quite a un-Minervaish way when the matter of filling the vacancy had come up in their annual meeting. She had mumbled something under her breath, which he was sure, was something disparaging regarding the presence of divination as a subject in Hogwarts. The meeting was tense enough. Not wanting to antagonize his deputy headmistress, he had volunteered to take the interviews himself.

Which led him to his current position, sitting in Hogshead, taking the interview of the fifteenth applicant, Sybil Trelawney, Granddaughter of some famous seer, who warned against the Second World War years ago. Well, there were many who have claimed to do that. At least half of the previous applicant had claimed to be the descendant of some famous seer who had given a big prophecy some hundreds of years ago. Well, Dumbledore was not taking the interview of their descendant, and as expected, none of them had come up to the mark on the evaluation for a Hogwarts Professor.

Dumbledore pinched his nose as he looked at the current applicant. Her big round glasses did give of the aura of those seers that come up in those muggle movies every so often. She would look perfect in an incensed filled room with a big crystal ball in front of her, as she would look owlishly at everyone who came in.

Controlling his mirth, as he imagined the scene, Dumbledore looked down at the papers in his hand and decided that he had interviewed her enough.

"Ms. Trelawney?" the phrase which was meant to be a statement turned into a question as he looked at the state of Sybil Trelawney. She had went rigid with her eyes as big as saucers. There was a frozen look in them, as if they were staring at something far beyond.

Dumbledore leaned in close, the shock that he was experiencing, evident in his eyes. If he was not wrong then these were the signs of an incoming Prophecy. The Prophecy could be anything, some incoherent babble to something crucial for the fates of million. He had to listen and listen attentively, for every word in it was important.

And the Prophecy was important too, as it foretold the coming of a vanquisher. Someone who will vanquish the Dark Lord. The Dark Lord was not specified. But there was no doubt in his mind. Fate always played a complex game, but rarely was it so, that a Prophecy given in a certain era and certain place wouldn't pertain to that same place and era, unless it was specified in the Prophecy.

And no action of Fate was excessive. If the Prophecy was given to him, there must be a role he has to play. Yes, he must be the guide of this new hero, this new light of hope amidst this darkness. He must be chosen to train the next vanquisher. Those were the thoughts of Dumbledore on this matter.

"Professor, what just happened?" it looked like Sybil Trelawney had come out of the trance as she looked around the room confusedly.

"Ah, don't you remember?" Dumbledore began pleasantly, his blue eyes twinkling as always in a delightful manner, as he peered over his half-moon glasses, "I was just congratulating you on being selected as the new divination Professor, when you passed out, with sheer happiness no doubt. Sometimes, happiness can be a tad bit overwhelming too."

…..

In a place far away from Hogwarts, inside a dimly lit room, sat Lord Voldemort. It was a huge room. On par with a hall, one would say. At one end, was a slightly elevated stage with an enormous chair in between. It was on this chair Lord Voldemort sat, with his pet snake, Nagini, by his side. As he slowly stroked the head of his snake, he pondered over his current achievements. Ministry of Magic was growing weaker by the day. His followers had infiltrated it to the very roots and were slowly rotting it from the inside. Despite Dumbledore's best effort, he and his secret order were a mere hindrance in his way. An obstacle that he can overcome any day he wished to. Yes, his victory was all but assured.

A slow knock reverberated through the whole room. Voldemort turned his eyes towards the door unpleasantly. His follower knew well not to disturb him, unless he called them. The matter must be important.

"Enter," the voice couldn't be called that of a human. The hiss of a snake would induce less fear than this voice.

The door slowly opened to reveal a rather young recruit, Severus Snape, if he recalled the name correctly. The young man was ambitious, he would grant him that. Not afraid to sell his own mother, if the situation calls for it. A true Slytherin, in his opinion, even though he was a half blood. No, it was because he was a half blood. He knew better than to underestimate the half-bloods. After all, he was a half-blood himself.

"For what reason did you disturb me Severus?" The voice was charming. One wouldn't say that the voice before and this voice could belong to the same person. The first voice would make chill run down your spine, would make you afraid of even moving from your spot, lest you die. But this voice, it was like a warm blanket that would surround you and soothe you. While he relished in the fear that he induced in other, these were people that he needed, at least for now, he would make them believe that they were safe with him.

Emboldened by this, Snape spoke courageously, "My Lord, I have brought grave news for you?"

"What news could it be that you consider grave for me?" Voldemort barely held back his laugh, he was on the verge of winning. None was strong enough to oppose him, and this young lad said he brought grave news for him? Could it be that either Crabbe or Goyle accidently died from overuse of magic while torturing some muggles? Honestly, he couldn't imagine any other grave news in such a scenario.

"I overheard a prophecy entailing you and a vanquisher My Lord."

Those words got Voldemort's attention. He knew better than to discard a Prophecy. They were powerful words that entangled one like a fly caught in a spider's web. One simply cannot escape the power of a true Prophecy.

"Tell me the exact Words," Ordered Voldemort.

"My lord, I don't know the complete wording, I was kicked out before I could hear it completely," As compared to the beginning, Snape's voice was shaking now.

Voldemort seethed inside. This incompetent fool couldn't do one job completely. But he had to remain calm.

"I see, Tell me what you know," the voice betrayed nothing of the emotions that he felt.

Snape proceeded to tell him the part of the Prophecy that he knew. The Prophecy was vague, too vague, in Voldemort's opinion. He couldn't discern the identity of his vanquisher from just this. There were two candidates in his mind. The Longbottom and the Potters.

"Who else heard this Prophecy?" was the question that Lord Voldemort asked.

"I believe Albus Dumbledore was present there too,"

"Dumbledore you say," Voldemort said as a plan began to form inside his head. If he played it right, then not only there would be no vanquisher but Dumbledore would also be removed as an obstacle completely.

"Severus, it is rumoured among my circles that you were once smitten with that mudblood whore of potter?"

"Yes My Lord,"

"I see then I have a job for you."

"Whatever you command My Lord, I shall do my utmost to fulfil it,"

"And you should, but first call Bella in. I have a job for her too."

…

Potter mansion, usually it would be ringing with the merriment of a newlywed couple with the laughter of a child mixed in. More than frequently, a friend of family, rather a close friend of family would drop by and the noise level would double, as if there were two children instead of one. But now it was silent, eerily so. As if no occupant was present. In reality, there was only one present. The other one being away to Diagon Alley with their child.

Lily Potter, the only current resident of Potter mansion was fuming. Her anger was evident in the way she was reading the ancient spell tomes present in their library. The library was an expansive one. Easily thousands of books were present in it. It could be counted as one of the biggest personal libraries in the whole Britain. Though, what set this library apart from others was not its hugeness, rather the ancient knowledge that was gathered. Some of the book s present could only be found here, with no other known copies in the world. Most of these rare books dealt with some powerful enchantments. If there was a rival to this ancient knowledge, it could only be the Black Family Library. As it happens, this ancient knowledge was the target of Lily Potter today.

The reason Lily was going through these huge Spell tomes like they were some thin books could be considered simple. Her family was in danger. As it stands, a maniacal Dark Lord, seeking power over the magical Britain and possibly the whole world could be coming after their family for a stupid Prophecy. Lily couldn't believe it. The reason her family was in danger, was a stupid bloody Prophecy. She never put much stock in Divination. To think Dumbledore had gal to suggest that he take their child in for "training" against the dark lord over some prophecy? She was furious. But it was nothing to the anger shown by James. She was sure he would have hexed the old man at the spot for even suggesting such a thing, though she was able to control him. Good thing Sirius wasn't there. The man was possessive enough of Harry, as if he was his own. She wasn't sure she would be able to control both of them. She didn't know where Dumbledore even got such a stupid idea. Harry was just a baby of one year old! No child deserves to be their childhood taken away over some prophecy. Especially not her own. That was the reason she was in the library, going over each of the old spell tomes, desperately looking for a way which would protect Harry from the Dark Lord. She wasn't stupid. Just because she doesn't put much stock in Divination, doesn't mean that Voldemort would tolerate any threat to his power, even if it's a one year old boy. Yes, she needed to protect their child.

Finally, it looked like hours of toiling had borne fruit as Lily found a powerful charm in one of the oldest books. At last her plans could be brought to fruition.

…

**10 Years Later,**

_'Why do I have to be stuck with pigs? Fat pigs at that?'_

Those were the thoughts of one Harry James Potter as he angrily mowed the lawn. The subject of those thoughts were his family, or rather supposed family since they never treated him like one anyway. Indeed, Harry Potter was an outsider inside his own family. The reason? Only one that Harry could think of was that he was not the son of Dursleys, his family, rather they were his aunt and uncle, him being the son of Petunia Dursley's sister. He was taken in by them when he was young, quite graciously, as he was reminded not so rarely. What was gracious about them taking him in? He didn't know. He actually was borderline abused by them. More often than not, he would go to sleep without a full stomach, his room being a small cupboard under the stair, which could barely hold him. His clothes were too large and too ragged to be worn by a child of his stature. The Dursleys didn't beat him, no, they were smart not enough not to do that. Instead, they had given their precious Dudley free reign over his cousin. He could do whatever he pleases with him.

Like a Devil being called Dudley appeared walking alongside with his gang of neighbourhood boys, all of them as fat and pudgy as Dudley.

"Harry, you want to play?" was the statement posed in form of a question as Dudley cracked his knuckles trying to look intimidating. To Harry, he only looked more pathetic.

Internally, Harry was groaning, Dudley had chosen the wrong time to appear. He had a lot of chores to do and no patience to spare on someone like Dudley.

"Bugger off Dudders, I am working," Harry mumbled as he tried to concentrate on mowing the lawn, internally, he wanted to mow Dudley and his gang.

"What did you just say?" Dudley went full red in the face, he hated the name Dudders. He motioned for his gang to surround Harry.

Harry looked as the gang tried to surround him. Seriously, he wanted to send them all flying, but that would get him into a lot of trouble with his uncle, and he wanted to take mercy on his eardrums for now. Seeing no other option, Harry pushed the lawn mower onto one of the fat boys and sprinted. In no time, he had crossed the lawn and was on his way to the nearby park.

"Look he is running, after him," came a distant voice, Harry thought it might belong to Dudley, but he was too far ahead to be able to discern his voice. All those fat boys sounded the same to him anyway.

It didn't take him long to cross the short distance between the park and the Privet Drive, and he was hidden behind his safe place. Even though Dudley knew that he would come to the park, he would never be able to find him in this place. Harry was confident in that.

Still, Harry was upset, not at Dudley and his gang, but at the precious time lost in trying to hide from Dudley and his gang. He would have liked to have some free time before Uncle Vernon came home, but that looked like a distinct possibility now. He really should have just sent the gang flying. It would have been well worth it. Even though his uncle would have screamed at him for not being able to control his freakishness.

'Freakishness', that's what his aunt and uncle called his power. If he was freak, then at least he was not alone, that much he knew from the way his Aunt talked whenever his freakishness would occur. The slight mumbling under her breath, which she thought he wouldn't be able to hear, after she had done rebuking him, was proof enough for him that he was not an only freak.

At the beginning, he couldn't control this power of his. Something impossible would always happen when he was angry or scared. At first he didn't think that he was the cause of these occurrences, his young childish mind just couldn't process the thought of him being able to do something so outstanding. His Aunt and Uncle just needed a subject for them to vent out their frustration, that's why they would scream at him. But, as the time passed, as Harry grew up, he couldn't help but be suspicious of these unnatural occurrences around him. In the end, even Harry had to admit that he must be somehow causing this. What would be the next thought of a young child when he had made such a startling discovery?

'_Wouldn't it be cool if I could somehow control this power?' _and that's exactly what Harry had thought, and thus started his daily toil for controlling this power.

The progress was slow for him. At first, he had tried to mimic what he had unconsciously done in the past years, the latest incident being able to grow his hair overnight. He had sat on his bed at night, after he was sure that the Dursleys had fallen asleep, closing his eyes and willing himself to grow his hair. In the beginning, progress was non-existent. Even after three nights, he wasn't able to make any changes to his hair. He was almost ready to give up, when an idea occurred to him. The incidents always occurred when he was feeling emotional. Maybe, his powers were somehow tied to his emotions. On the fourth night, he sat down and imagined the abuse that he had gone through at the Dursleys, he willed himself to feel the anger at their pathetic behaviour towards him. As his anger came, he didn't stop it. He let it grow. And that's when he noticed a slight tingling sensation within him. He couldn't pinpoint the location just that it came from inside him. Not even realizing what he was doing he focused the tingling sensation towards his hair and behold, his hair had gotten an inch taller. The consequence was that he felt completely exhausted and fell asleep not a moment after. That was the first day in many years Harry had been late in preparing the breakfast.

Since then, Harry had progressed far in his control over his powers. No longer did he have to rely on feeling strong emotions for them to activate. All he need to do was focus and imagine the thing he wanted to do and it would be done. Though, he had to practice a lot before he was able to do new things comfortably.

The shouting of the fat boys had drawn really close as Harry was snapped out of his reverie. The gang was right in front of his hiding place and completely unaware of his presence. His hiding place was a particularly thick bush with a hole in the back. The hole was completely covered by nearby overgrown soft branches. Without close inspection, no one could find this place. Harry, too, had stumbled across this place by complete accident. His foot had caught on a rock once while running from the gang and he fell head first into the bush. That's when he realized that it was hollow. Hollow enough for a person of his size to comfortably sit inside. Since then, Harry had taken special care of this place by trimming and rearranging the branches in such a way that the bush would look complete.

The hiding place had served him well over the years. Even now Dudley and his gang were unable to find him. They had moved a bit further now, standing on the edge of some mud.

As Harry looked at them standing there trying to find him, a wicked idea formed in his mind. He closed his eyes and concentrated, imagining a force pushing Dudley into the mud. He was not disappointed as he heard the splash and a grin formed on his face. Though the boy behind Dudley was not able to appreciate the joke much. Dudley rounded on him as soon as he could get up.

The thought of causing a riot in Dudley's gang amused him to no end but, he still had chores to do. With a heavy heart and silent footsteps, he came out of his hiding place and began walking back towards the Privet Drive.

…

Weasleys were a happy family. Anyone who met them would say so. On the outside, Weasleys lived a blissful life even without money under the patriarchy of Arthur Weasley, the current head of Weasley family. Parents of two successful children, who were working abroad, and five more who looked to be as successful as the other two. But, like every other family, this was not the true face of Weasley family. The one who truly ruled over the family was Molly Weasley, wife of Arthur Weasley. While, Arthur was a reasonable man who could see reason if shown, his wife was the opposite. A controlling woman who couldn't bear to see anything go against her wishes. In the Weasley household, her order was absolute. She was the reason the eldest two Weasley children had flown the nest as soon as they could and rarely show their faces around the Burrow. Out of the remaining four, none could be said to be exceptionally fond of their mother, except for maybe the youngest boy. Then again, the only thing on his mind was food.

Of the seven children that the Weasleys had raised, only one was a girl. Twin to the youngest, she was approaching eleven years of age. A girl with bright red hair, a shade darker than her brothers, and a face full of freckles, just like every other Weasley. She possessed a heart shaped face which was beginning to lose the baby fat and bright brown eyes which seemed to be full of life. Arthur completely adored his little daughter but, Molly was not very caring towards her. Though, the feelings of hostility were mutual. The little girl's dream was to get out of the clutches of her mother as soon as she can. It was this girl that the fate had chosen to be one of three to bear the mark of greatness.

On this particular day, when the sun was kissing the horizon, a breeze with a touch of heat was blowing promising the advent of summer, the same young girl was busy furiously scrubbing the dishes.

"Ginevra! What are you doing?" Ginny rolled her eyes at that question. Anyone could see she was washing dishes.

Her mother bore down on her as she kept quiet, choosing to ignore her mother in favour of keeping her temper.

"What is this?" her mother said, her temper clearly visible in her voice, "Is this what you call cleaning?"

Ginny looked up to find her mother holding the plate that she just washed. On it was a little spot she missed. She couldn't believe it! Her mother was scolding her for missing just a tiny spot of oil on a plate? What of dozens of plates that she washed before so perfectly?

"You cannot even wash dishes properly Ginevra! Do I have to do everything myself? By the time I was your age, I could do the whole house work better than my own mother."

And so Molly Weasley went on and on. Ginny waited, not so patiently, for her to finish. It would only make her lecture longer if she interrupted her mother.

"I am sorry, I'll do better next time," said Ginny, not feeling sorry at all. And why would she? She had washed all the dishes perfectly bar one. Her mother had no right for being angry just like that.

Having washed all the dishes while Molly was rambling, Ginny left the kitchen, intent on going to her room and sleep. It was still early, but Ginny had no wish to spend any more time with her mother or anyone else for that matter. The only one at home were her parents and Ron anyway. There was still a month left before her brothers returned from Hogwarts.

While going to her room she encountered her brother, Ron, in the parlour, who was still stuffing his face with biscuits even after he had five large helpings of dinner. He smirked at her, bits of food flying out of her mouth everywhere.

"Oh, can it Ronald," She snapped at him, her annoyance increased by the food bits flying at her.

"Ginevra! Stop picking on your brother!" came the voice of Molly Weasley from the kitchen.

"Oh!" Ginny groaned in frustration and stomped upwards towards her room. Only when she was safely behind the closed door of her room and in her bed, did she let the tears fly.

'_Why? Why is this happening to me?" _were the thoughts of Ginny Weasley as she cried herself to sleep.

…

The next day dawned bright and sunny. And with it, started Ginny's toil once again. She was put to work from the morning, washing dishes, cleaning house, taking care of laundry. All along while berated by her mother. Her trial finally came to end around noon, when her mother left to do some grocery shopping. Seeing no reason to stick around and do chores when her mother was not around, Ginny left everything and went out for a walk.

It was a pleasant day. Neither too hot nor too cold. The heat of the summer was just beginning to creep into the sunlight. A few rogue clouds could be seen wandering in the sky. Feeling herself cheer up on seeing such a beautiful weather, Ginny began to hum to herself as she started walking towards the woods around her home. Her goal was the stream which flow near the Burrow. In all her life, she had never seen the stream before and she wanted to rectify it as soon as possible.

A short trudge through the forest later, the stream was visible to Ginny. Feeling excited at the prospect of finally seeing it, she took large steps in order to cover the distance swiftly only to be stopped in her track.

What made Ginny stop was a girl, around her age with light blonde hair. The hair colour was so light that one could mistake them for white. Her skin was pale, milky without a hint of blemish. Her face was slightly on the longer side. All in all she could be considered pretty for her age.

Ginny watched the girl, fascinated, as she hummed to herself while kicking her feet lightly in water. Her face was slightly turned upwards with eyes closed. She looked so calm and serene in that state that Ginny couldn't believe her to be human.

"You shouldn't stand there like that, you know, you might become infested."

Ginny blushed brightly at having been caught staring. She hesitated a little bit before coming out of the woods. It was her first time interacting with anyone outside of her family. Finding the stream to be shallow, she crossed it to where the girl was sitting.

Luna opened her eyes as Ginny approached her. She turned toward her. Her eyes were big and bright blue, Ginny noticed.

"Oh my!" Luna said softly as she laid her eyes on Ginny for the first time.

"What is it?" Ginny asked confused.

"You seem to be infested by humdingers," Luna said, blinking owlishly at her.

"Uh, Humdingers?" Ginny was completely confused now.

"Yes, they get attached to people who are really sad," Luna said nodding her head.

"Wha…," Ginny couldn't comprehend how Luna even knew that.

"Why don't you sit down? Playing in water can really help getting rid of humdinger." Luna turned her back and closed her eyes, her feet never stopped kicking the water.

"Okay," Ginny said while sitting beside the seemingly odd girl. She took off her shoes and let her feet touch the cool water of the stream. She sighed at the good feeling.

"My name's Luna, Luna Lovegood," the girl said, her bright blue eyes staring at Ginny.

"Oh, Sorry!" her cheeks were tinged pink at having forgotten to introduce herself, "I am Ginny, Ginny Weasley."

"Oh, I see Virginia," Luna nodded her head.

Ginny gritted her teeth, "It's not Virginia! It's Ginevra, though I really hate it."

"I see, Ginny it is then," Luna answered, "Have you received your Hogwarts' letter?"

"What? You are a witch Luna?" Ginny exclaimed.

"Of course Ginny! Isn't it obvious?" Luna asked, her head tilted slightly to one side as her eyes stared at her.

"Huh? How can it be obvious if someone's a witch?" Ginny asked once again completely confused. She wasn't sure if she could follow many of Luna's statement. The girl was odd, Ginny decided. No, she was completely off her knockers. She liked her.

"Never mind," Luna answered shaking her head with a slight smile on her face.

"So, what are you doing here, Luna?" Ginny decided to keep the conversation going.

"Just washing away the humdingers, though most of them are gone now," Luna answered.

"I see. So you were sad then?" Ginny asked. She thought that she could finally make some head and tails of the girl's statement.

Luna didn't answer, just nodded her head, her feet still kicking at the water.

A comfortable silence elapsed between the two afterwards. In that silence which followed this odd conversation, Ginny felt completely at ease with Luna. There was none of the tension that she usually felt with her family. She sensed, that with this quirky girl of her own age, she could be herself and she wouldn't judge her. Just like her two eldest brothers.

On this day, when the weather was gradually transitioning from winter to summer. When new leaves were just beginning to sprout on the trees, a new friendship was born.

When more than a few silent moments had passed between the two girls, Luna turned her head towards Ginny, "Do you want to play in water?"

Ginny looked at Luna, a smile covering her face as she took in her new friends. She knew she was late and her mother would scold her for not completing the chores, but right now, spending time with Luna seemed to be much more fun. Any scolding her mother would give her, playing with her will be more than worth it.

"Why not! Let's play," was the answer that Ginny gave to Luna with a smile on her face.

…

Summer was not really Harry's favourite part of the year. It only meant more of the chores and more of Dudley's abuses. Not to mention the heat was killing. But, this summer was turning out to be especially gruelling. His Aunt would just not leave him alone for a moment. No matter where he went, what he did, she was always watching him like a hawk. And the oddest thing was, he was not allowed to pick the mail anymore!

This looked very suspicious to Harry. Especially, when he knew that his Aunt wouldn't do anything herself if he could do it. And, picking mail was something that he could definitely do. It was almost as if she didn't want him to see something that would come in the mail. That only meant one thing, he had to see what was in the mail.

This task was an arduous one. His aunt was very vigilant in both keeping track of his moment and collecting the mail herself. Harry had no idea how to complete this humungous task. His only consolation was that, whatever was going to come in the mail hadn't come yet or his Aunt would have stopped her monitoring.

A week passed in Harry's attempt to gain access to the mail. He had tried standing near the door but his Aunt stopped him before he could pick it up, looking suspiciously at him while she picked up the mail. He had tried his best to look innocent. Afterwards, he had tried looking at the mail after his Aunt had gone through it to no avail. If there was anything there, his Aunt would have picked it up already.

Finally his chance came. He was working in the kitchen, scrubbing the dishes after breakfast. It was a Sunday so his Uncle was at home too, reading the newspaper while sitting in front of television. His Aunt was up doing God knows what. That's when the mail came.

"Boy! Get the damn mail," his Uncle shouted at him from the living room.

"Yes, Uncle Vernon!" Harry tried his best to mask the excitement in his voice as he carefully put the plate back. Trying not to look conspicuous, Harry made his way towards the front door and picked up the mail. He quickly went through the mail before his Uncle noticed what he was doing. There were the usual bills, some business letters for his uncle and an old looking envelope which was addressed to him. Harry quickly stuffed the letter in his shirt where it wouldn't be visible and took the mail to his uncle. He noticed his approach as he took down the newspaper from in front of his face.

"About time boy, what were you doing?" his Uncle asked, his moustache twitching.

"Nothing, Uncle Vernon," Harry answered quickly and returned to the kitchen to do the dishes. The day dragged on as he tried to do the chores and stay away from Dudley as much as he could. It looked like the time had stopped since the day wouldn't end. Finally, it was time for dinner, and Harry was never gladder for the day to come to an end, and that was saying something.

All through the dinner, Harry tolerated the keen stare from his Aunt. He knew she would be suspicious of him, since he picked the mail today but, he tried his best to look normal as he ate his measly portion of the food. It was hard, controlling his excitement and appearing normal under his Aunt's glare but, he somehow managed it. It was a distinct possibility that, the letter could be his portal away from the Dursleys and, he wasn't about to botch what appeared to be one chance in centuries. So he sat there, barely keeping it together as his Aunt sent him more than frequent stares. As soon as the dinner was over, Harry got up and took the dishes to the kitchen. That's when he finally took a sigh of relief.

"Try not to mess up those dishes, they are new."

Harry almost jumped out of his skin at hearing the voice of his aunt but he managed to keep his sanity as he answered his Aunt.

"Yes, Aunt Petunia."

His aunt gave him another keen stare before she finally retired for the night.

Harry wiped tiny beads of sweats from his forehead after his Aunt had gone. He couldn't believe how nervous he was! Anymore of this, and he might even go into hyperventilation. Finishing his chores as fast as he could, Harry too retired for the night. He decided to wait for the Dursleys to sleep before he opened the letter. It was too risky and he couldn't afford being caught before he had read the letter.

He tossed and turned in his crumpled mattress as he listened to the voices in the house. It was taking Dursleys forever to go to sleep. Even after they had gone to sleep, he lay there in his bed, still too afraid to open the letter.

Before long, the clock in the living room chimed midnight. Deeming it safe enough now, Harry got up and took out his letter. Not risking a light, not that he had any, he decided to rely on his powers. Focusing his power in his hand, he concentrated and, within a few moment there was a dimly lit ball of light in it. Lifting it in front of the letter, Harry let it dangle there as he studied the envelope. It looked kind of old. It was made of some yellow paper which was quite thick and there was a sealing made out of wax in front. It was a throwback to the Eighteenth century. Feeling a bit apprehensive, Harry opened the letter and started to read it.

The letter was, in simple terms, shocking. At first, he thought it was some kind of prank but then his Aunt behaviour came to mind and he disregarded the idea at once. It had to be a real deal. Besides it was way too elaborate to be a hoax. Not to mention, it explained a lot about him and his powers, or magic as it was called in the letter.

Now if he only what did it meant by they were waiting for his owl, it would be perfect?

The problem was resolved the next day when he went out. There was an owl that sat there as he did the customary mowing of the lawn, staring at him the whole day. Thinking that's what they meant in the letter, Harry wrote his reply in the night and discreetly gave the letter to the owl. The owl gave a soft hoot, took his letter in his beak and flew away.

Finally, finally, he could be free of the Dursleys.

….

For Ginny, having a quiet lunch was a rare affair. Rare in the sense that her brother hadn't done anything to her and her mother hadn't scolded her yet. As it happened, today was one of those days when she could have a quiet lunch. She very much relished these moment and intended to do so today too, when they were interrupted by two owls.

One of the owls landed in front of Ron while, the other landed in front of Ginny. Considering the timing and that both her and Ron had received an owl together, she could reach only a single conclusion. Her Hogwarts letter had arrived.

"Oh my! Ron open it," Molly seemed to be positively gushing as a silence descended on the dining table.

"But Mum, I am eating," Ron's word were almost incomprehensible with bits of food flying out of his overstuffed mouth. The landing place of most of those scraps was Ginny, since she had the misfortune of sitting in front of him. Though, today it didn't matter much since she was too busy opening her letter.

As expected she had been accepted into Hogwarts. Looking up at her mother, she found her to be busy opening her brother's letter. Deciding that this was the perfect opportunity to slip out, she got up and was about to head out when she was interrupted by her mother.

"Ginevra, where are you going?" Her mother asked while eyeing her.

"I have eaten mother," Ginny answered feeling chagrined.

"Then wash the dishes, also I see you have been accepted into Hogwarts too, better not waste your father's hard earned money."

"Yes mother," was the answer as she returned to take the dishes and started washing them in a foul mood. Her mother truly knew how to ruin her mood.

It took better part of an hour for her to get the dishes, and when it was done, she was out of the door before her mother could assign her another task. She wanted to find Luna and relay the news to her.

The sky was overcast with clouds with a powerful breeze blowing. This seemed to put Ginny in a better mood as she continued her slink towards the stream. That's where she usually met Luna after their first encounters nearly two months ago.

As she approached the stream, she spied Luna sitting on the bank in her usual manner, her feet dangling in the water as she hummed an unfamiliar tone to herself.

"Luna!" Ginny exclaimed as she rushed towards her friends.

Luna opened her eyes and smiled at her friend, "Hello Ginny, how are you today?"

"I am fine Luna," Ginny answered as she plopped herself down beside Luna.

"I must say Ginny, I was not expecting you today. What brings you here today?" Luna asked facing Ginny.

"Do I really need a reason to visit my friend?" Ginny asked with a coy smile.

"Ah, I see, Congratulation on being accepted in Hogwarts," was the answer from Luna.

"What? How did you know?" even after two months, Luna still managed to surprise her on every turn.

"Well, Ginny it is summer and your birthday will be soon and, as the letters are sent before your birthday, so it does make a nice possibility that you received your letter today." Luna explained.

"Well that does sound logical," Ginny conceded.

"No matter, I am Happy for you, you seem to be really interested in going to Hogwarts."

"Yes," Ginny nodded her head, "I cannot wait to go there."

"I see," Luna answered as she stared into the stream.

A few moment of silence followed that but, it was soon shattered by Luna's voice.

"Ginny, Can I ask a personal question?"

"Of course," Ginny answered, "you can ask me anything."

"Why don't you like your family?" Luna asked in a soft voice.

Once again Luna had shown her amazing insight and the ability to read her. She always had shown an uncanny ability of wrangling out truths from her. It was quite marvellous actually. She would ask a question and then just sit there, humming to herself, like she never asked anything, like she was giving her a way out if she didn't want to. In those two short months that Ginny had known her, she had grown to be her closest confidant.

Ginny shook her head wistfully as she began her tale of hate and despair. A tale of a hating mother and a despaired daughter. She told her everything, leaving not even a single aspect of her life. She told her of her condition in her own house. How she was treated as nothing but dirt by her own mother as her whole family watched. They did nothing to stop her and sometimes even joined in on the fun.

By the time the story was finished, Ginny was reduced to tears with her head on Luna's shoulder, all the while repeating again and again.

"Why? Why is this happening to me?"

Luna cradled her head in her hands as she continued to cry. Her own eyes were brimming with tears, nonetheless, she continued to offer soothing words to her only friend in the world.

Finally, the crying subsided and Ginny lifted her head from Luna's shoulder. Her eyes were puffy and completely red from crying for so long.

"Sorry," Ginny mumbled as she rubbed her eyes with her sleeves.

"No need to apologize Ginny, I am here to help," Luna answered while shaking her head.

"Thanks Luna, I really appreciate it," Ginny managed a watery smile.

You know Ginny, I was nine when my mother died," Luna began but was interrupted by Ginny.

"Luna, you don't have to!" she exclaimed.

"But that's the thing Ginny," Luna answered taking her hands into her own, "I want to tell you, I want you to know everything about me. I don't want there to be any secrets between us. You are my best and only friend Ginny, and if there is anyone whom I trust with everything it's you. Besides, it's not as sad as yours."

"That depends on perspectives," Ginny answered, signalling her to continue.

"After her death, my father immersed himself in his paper quibbler and I was left alone. We do spend time together but only then we talk about different creatures. It becomes really lonely having no one to talk to, just chatting like anyone else…,"so Luna continued her tale of sadness, how even with her father with her she always felt so alone and how after meeting Ginny that feeling of loneliness was no longer there.

Ginny listened patiently to the blonde haired girl just like how she had done to her tale and vowed in her heart how she would never leave her alone.

And so the bond between the two girls grew stronger and stronger to the point where they didn't hide their deepest darkest secret from each other and with each secret spilled, their trust in each other grew, till they could safely say that there was no one else in the world that they would trust more than each other.

And thus, a friendship was born, a friendship which would alter the course of destiny and guide the world for thousands of years to come!

And none of the three were any wiser to the part that they had to play in the grand scheme of things.

Really, how could they know?

…..


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Here you go folks, as promised the revised second chapter. At least for those who want to read it again! or new readers. Oh God! I hope I am still getting them.**

Chapter 02:

Two weeks had passed since that fateful night when Harry decided to trust the seemingly unbelievable letter and sent an owl to Hogwarts. After that, they had yet to get in touch with him.

As for the Dursleys, they hadn't known any better. Still believing that he hadn't received any letter, his Aunt Petunia had happily dyed some of Dudley's old clothes grey, the uniform colour for Stone Wall High, the school Dursleys decided he would be going to this September. Little did they know, he would attending Hogwarts come September. If it was real that is. There still was some doubt in his mind about the authenticity of the letter.

As Harry absentmindedly moped the floor, he thought about how he would be getting the school supplies. He had no money. And Dursleys sure wouldn't be giving him any. He had no way of buying the uniform or the books that were mentioned in the letter. There could be Scholarships offered at Hogwarts but he didn't know. There was also the matter of the location of Hogwarts which he didn't know. If he didn't know where the school was, how was he supposed to get there?

Just then a loud knock, threatening to blow the door off his hinges, reverberated throughout the room.

"Those bloody sales men," Vernon could be heard muttering about the salesmen all the way through the living room, "Boy! Get the door,"

Not feeling like he wanted to have his uncle breathing down his neck over something as insignificant as a door knock, Harry made his way towards the door.

The scene that greeted Harry as he opened the door was quite the most astonishing one of his, admittedly, short life. It was a giant man, his girth completely filling the doorway through which even his uncle could pass easily. His height, more than the doorway. His face was completely covered with a bushy black beard through which his beetle black eyes were shining brightly.

"Hello, you must be young Harry," the voice of the big man boomed throughout the house.

Harry was too shocked to process the information that this giant man knew who he was. He stood there, his mouth open, yet no words coming out.

Hearing the loud voice, Vernon came to the door to see what was going on. As soon as his eyes landed on the giant man towering over the doorway, his face went pale, his eyes bulging out of its sockets.

The giant man turned towards Vernon, his mouth opened as if to say something. But, before anything could come out, Vernon had slammed the door shut in his face. Turning towards Harry, he grabbed him from his hair, yanking him to the living room.

"Listen to me you little freak," Vernon's voice was nothing but a chilling whisper as he stood inches away from Harry, his face purple, contorted in anger and fear, filling Harry's vision. "If I found you associating yourself with the likes of him…"

He never got to finish his sentence, as at that precise moment, a resounding crack was heard, and the giant man walked into the house, holding the cracked door like pieces of a broken china plate.

"Err, sorry about that," the giant man said sheepishly, then his eyes took in the scene in front of him.

"DURSLEY," Harry winced at the loudness of the voice, "Just what do you think you are doing?"

Vernon who was already deathly pale after seeing the giant walking in, holding the pieces of the door so nonchalantly, went even paler. He gave a loud squeak and started walking backwards, stumbling on the sofa, he fell on his back.

"D-d-don't come near me you freak," in all his life, Harry had never seen his uncle so afraid. The urge to snicker was getting uncontrollable.

"Vernon, what's the problem?" it was his aunt, Petunia, who had just entered the living room, curious about the strange noises coming from there.

As her eyes took in the strange scene in the living room, she gave a loud shriek and fainted.

The giant man was looking around the room confusedly. On one hand, there was the man who was whimpering uncontrollably as he backed against the wall. On the other, there was the woman who fainted as soon as she saw him.

"Knew the Dursleys were bad people," the giant man was mumbling to himself as he took stock of the situation.

"Um, I am sorry but who are you?" finally Harry couldn't hold it in anymore. After seeing the reaction of his uncle, he was bursting with curiosity.

"How rude of me," the giant exclaimed, "My name's Hagrid. I am the gate keeper of Hogwarts castle."

The name Hogwarts caused a euphoric sensation to run through him, "Why are you here?"

"I am here to take you to buy your school supplies Harry," the giant named Hagrid answered, "We should get going. It's getting late."

"Now listen here," it looked like Vernon had finally gathered his wits. Just barely, "he won't be doing any of this Hogwash business. He would be going to Stone Wall's high like a perfectly normal kid."

"Nonsense," Hagrid waved his hand, accidentally dropping the door pieces on the floor, making Vernon jump like a cat, "Harry here has been registered at Hogwarts since his birth. He will be attending Hogwarts just like his parents did."

Hagrid's answer fell on deaf ears as Vernon had already fainted. Looking at the two unconscious people, he shrugged his massive shoulders.

"Let's go then," he turned towards the door.

"But I don't have any money," Harry protested.

"No need to worry about," Hagrid replied as he started walking out.

Shrugging his shoulders, Harry followed him outside.

The walk afterwards was one of the most bizarre of Harry's life. It was a day of firsts for Harry. Hagrid didn't seem to be much familiar with the things as he kept pointing out even the tiniest of things. As if he didn't stand out enough due to his huge size.

They took the tube to London. Harry had to pay for the tickets since Hagrid didn't seem to understand the concept of muggle money. He was ready to hand off the entire roll of pounds to the ticket clerk who looked like he was about to faint from seeing so much money at the same time.

After reaching London, Harry found himself in a crowded street with a strange run down building that people seemed to be avoiding. To his surprise, he found himself standing in front of it a few moments later.

"This, Harry, is Leaky Cauldron, the entrance to Diagon Alley, where you would be buying your supplies," Hagrid said walking towards the building in shambles.

Harry's eyes opened in disbelief as soon as he walked in. There were all sorts of people wearing weird clothes, chatting noisily. The business seemed to be thriving in here.

Hagrid walked up to the toothless barkeeper who smiled at Hagrid.

"Same as always Hagrid," Tom asked.

Hagrid shook his head, "Not today Tom. I am here to escort young Harry here to buy his school supplies. He is starting this year."

Tom peered down to where Harry was standing. For a moment he seemed to stare at him before his eyes went wide in shock.

"Could it be you are Harry Potter?" his voice was loud, easily heard over the chatter in the whole pub. As soon as the word reached their ears, every head whipped around to see what the bartender was talking. Strange murmurs started spreading as soon as their eyes landed on the scrawny boy standing there with the giant man.

Afterwards, it was a cacophony that enveloped Harry's ears. His eyes swam with hordes of people coming to greet and shake his hand. The next couple of minutes were a blur to him.

Finally, Hagrid came to his rescue, pushing people away gently with his hands, "Alright, Alright, That's enough. Give the poor kid some breathing space."

"You good there, Harry," Hagrid asked brushing his clothes. At Harry's nod, Hagrid gave a smile, "Okay then let's go."

As they moved towards a door located on the opposite end, their path was blocked by a figure, wearing a huge turban.

"H-h-h-hello H-h-h-Hagrid," the man stuttered.

"Oh Hello Professor Quirrel," Hagrid said jovially, "Harry, he will be teaching you Defence against the Dark Arts."

"N-not that y-you need it, eh P-p-potter," Quirrel said limply shaking Harry's hand, confusing Harry completely. Why wouldn't he need the subject?

"Now Professor we must get going," Hagrid said before Harry could ask something.

"O-o-o-of course, you must be in a hurry," Quirrel answered motioning them forward.

Soon, they were standing in front of a brick wall. Hagrid took out an umbrella and started muttering to himself.

"Let's see, which one was it again. Oh yeah, three up and two across," with that Hagrid tapped a brick with the umbrella and the bricks melted away to reveal a beautiful scenery.

"Welcome Harry, to the Diagon Alley," Hagrid said.

The world that Harry saw was one he couldn't have imagined even in his wildest dreams. There were rows and rows of brightly coloured shops, filled with weirdest things. There were eyes in the jar, hair hanging from the roof, strange liquid being sold and golden pots were there. An old woman was arguing over the price of liver. A shady looking man was holding something tightly while walking at a furious pace.

"Come on Harry, we need to get going. There's a lot to buy," Hagrid urged Harry forward.

As they moved further into alley, Harry's eyes became wider as he stared at the shops. In the end, they were standing in front a large white building in no time.

"Those are goblins Harry. Better be respectful to them," Hagrid said, noticing Harry's wide eyed stare at the strange creatures standing outside the bank.

The inside of bank was as lush and luxurious as it exterior. There were rows and rows of desk on which the same strange creatures were sitting and doing business.

Hagrid approached one of the clerks who didn't have any customer. The goblin looked up and gave Hagrid a cold stare.

"Yes?" The voice was as cold as the stare.

"We are here to get some money from Harry Potter's vault and you know what in vault 713," Hagrid answered cheerfully not noticing the goblin's cold demeanour or maybe that was how the goblins treated everybody.

"I believe you have the appropriate items?" the goblin peered over the huge desk.

"Of course of course," Hagrid nodded, "Here's the letter from Professor Dumbledore," Hagrid handed the goblin a letter who took it and began scrutinizing in earnest.

"Now where's the key?" Hagrid continued, rummaging through his pockets and piling the things coming out of his pockets on the clerk's desk who looked quite unhappy with the mess.

"Ah finally!" Hagrid exclaimed, pulling out a tiny golden key that he could barely hold between two fingers, "here you go."

Goblin took the key and looked at it for a moment, "Griphook," he shouted.

The next instant, a very identical looking goblin appeared beside the desk.

"Take Mr. Potter here to his Vault No. 687 and Vault 713," the clerk goblin instructed to Griphook.

Griphook nodded to the clerk and turned towards Harry. Motioning with his finger to follow him he began walking to a set of doors located in the huge hall. As Harry crossed the door, he was surprised to find a dimly lit tunnel with tracks going down.

Griphook snapped his fingers and a cart came running. He got into the cart motioning for them to climb on. Harry immediately climbed inside while Hagrid did so reluctantly. The ride that followed was the most exhilarating experience for Harry.

All too soon for his liking the cart stopped in front of huge doors. Griphook climbed out and approached the doors. Pulling out the key that the clerk had given to him, he put it into the key hole. At first, there were some rumbling sounds before the doors opened, blowing a cloud of dust.

Harry had lost count by now, of how many times his eyes had opened in disbelief during this short trip. There was a small mound of gold that was dazzling brilliantly in the light and all of this belonged to him. There would be no more starvation for him and none of Dudley's oversized clothes.

"Time to get some money for your supplies Harry," Hagrid said putting a handful of coins in a bag that he picked up from a corner.

"This should be enough to last you for a year Harry," Hagrid said pushing the bag in the hands of a shocked Harry.

"All of this. This is mine?" Harry still hadn't come out of the shock.

"Of course. Your parents left it for you," Hagrid gave Harry a strange look and walked out of the Vault.

"Now to Vault 713. Can we go a bit slow please?" Hagrid said getting into the cart.

"One speed only," was the gruff reply from Goblin before the cart sped forward or rather downward.

The next vault was an exact replica of Harry's vault, except that, instead of using a key, the goblin stroked the middle of the door with his long bony finger and it instantly melted away in a wall of dust.

The whole Vault was empty except for a single podium made of stone, on which lay a bag. Hagrid quickly scooped it up and put it in his pocket.

"What was in that bag?" Harry asked curiously.

"Nothing Harry, nothing," came the reply from Hagrid as he got into the cart.

The ride back was as exhilarating as the ride down. By the end of it Hagrid was looking more than a little green.

"Harry, why don't you go to Madame Malkins," Hagrid said, pointing to a shop ahead, "I think I need a stiff drink after that ride."

"Alright," Harry nodded his head slowly. Hagrid gave him a look before he took off in the direction of Leaky Cauldron.

Harry took a huge breath and let it out slowly. For now, he was alone in this new world. Steeling himself, he went inside the shop located just a few steps away.

A doorbell rang as he went inside the shop. It wasn't a large shop but, it was filled with rows and rows clothes. To one side, there were few stands where a young boy was getting measured by a middle aged lady.

Hearing the doorbell chime, the lady looked up. On seeing Harry standing there looking lost, she smiled.

"New to Hogwarts dear?" the voice was kind and warm. On Harry's nod she continued, "Why don't you stand here. I will be with you shortly."

Harry moved and stood at the place indicated. After measuring the boy, the woman moved away, leaving the two boys alone. At this time, the boy noticed Harry standing there.

"Are you starting this year?" the tone was superior as if he was looking down on Harry. The smirk on his face reminded him of bullies, "I am starting this year too. I am sure I'll be sorted into Slytherin. That's the only proper house, with proper tradition. All others are too lax on those half-bloods and Muggleborns, my father says. Are you one on them?"

Harry was saved from the effort of replying by the appearance of the old, who forcefully thrust the robes into the boy's hand and gestured him to go out. The boy glared at the woman and stomped out of the shop.

"Don't listen to the likes of him my dear," the lady smiled, "Sorry for the delay, let's get you fitted now, shall we?"

It didn't take him long to be fitted in new robes and soon, he was walking out with a large bag full of new clothes and a radiant smile on his face.

"Hey Harry," Hagrid called to him as soon as he walked out. Noticing Hagrid standing on one side Harry hurried to him. He was holding a cage with an owl in one hand.

"Got you robes?" Hagrid asked. At Harry's nod, he stuck out the hand holding the owl, "here, I bought a birthday gift for you."

"Really?" Harry asked awed, as he tentatively took the cage. He examined the owl within. It was a beautiful owl with snowy white feathers and amber eyes, "It's so majestic."

The owl hooted softly as if approving Harry's choice of word.

"It's a female owl Harry," Hagrid chuckled, "Now let's get on with your shopping."

Their next shop was Flourish and Blotts, a book shop. This shop, like Madame Malkin's was an average one, with rows and rows of books. Each shelf holding a different category of book.

Taking out the list, Hagrid went inside and within a few minutes had grabbed all of the books that were required. Harry wanted to buy more but Hagrid stopped him, insisting that these books would suffice for him now.

After buying the books, the next thing on the list was cauldron. Here too, Hagrid had to restrain Harry, who wanted to buy a gold plated one, saying that the list specifies a pewter cauldron. While buying a cauldron, they also stocked up on the necessary supplies for potion making.

In the end, the only thing left to buy was a wand for Harry. According to Hagrid, there was only one shop in whole Diagon Alley who sold wands.

"Here we are Harry," Hagrid smiled from under his beard, "Ollivanders. The finest wand makers in the whole Britain."

Harry wasn't sure about the finest part. The whole shop had an aura of mystery to it. Unlike all the brightly coloured shops of Diagon Alley, it was a rather dull. Even then, it could be noticed even from the end of the Alley.

Entering the shop, the feeling of unease only intensified for Harry. It was almost as if he could feel the magic hanging in the air, calling out to him, infusing in his very being.

He raised one hand to ring the bell, when he found himself staring into two big, grey eyes. Startled, Harry took a step back.

"Ah, Mr. Potter," the voice was deep and as mysterious as the shop, "I was expecting you."

"Hello Mr. Ollivander," despite Harry's state of shock, Hagrid seemed at ease, "We are here for Harry's wand."

"Ah, Hello Hagrid," the man named Ollivander looked away from Harry, "Oak Sixteen inches, malleable. A fine wand. It's a shame they broke it. Though, I hope you are using its pieces?" the voice had turned stern by the end.

"Err, no of course not," Hagrid pulled his coat tighter around himself, looking uncomfortable.

"That's good, that's good," Ollivander seemed mollified by the answer, "Now, Mr. Potter needs a wand eh?" he turned towards Harry again, "Of course he does. Now which is your wand hand my dear boy?"

"Err, I am right handed?" Harry answered hesitantly.

"Alright then, stick out your hand for me?" Ollivander asked.

Harry did as he was asked by Ollivander who took a tape in his and hand and started measuring.

"That's enough," Ollivander said after a short while, carrying a box. It was then that Harry realized the tape was measuring his arm itself.

"Why don't you try this one? Maple 12" with a core of unicorn hair," Ollivander opened the box.

Harry slowly grabbed the wand but, before he could even retract his hand, the wand was snatched out of it.

"No, no, no, that won't do," Ollivander shook his head, "How about this one, 14" yew with dragon heartstring."

But once again, the wand was snatched before he could do anything. This show continued on for at least half an hour. By the end of it, Harry was getting quite frustrated.

"A tricky customer eh?" Ollivander sounded suspiciously excited, "Not to worry, Mr. Potter. I have sold hundreds of wands and there has yet to be a wizard or witch whose match I have not found. Of course it is actually the wand which chooses its owner," Ollivander seemed lost in his own world.

"I wonder," Ollivander had gone back to his mysterious self, "Yes that might be it." And with that the old shop keeper disappeared in the back of his shop.

Harry didn't have to wait long as the wand maker reappeared almost immediately, carrying a long red box.

"Here, Holly, Eleven and a Half inches, with a Phoenix feather core," the voice of the old wand maker was dripping with awe.

As soon as Harry laid his eyes on the wand, he felt himself drawn towards it. It was like the wand was beckoning him. Without even realizing it, he had stretched out his hand. Like in slow motion, he felt himself slowly grasping the wand. As soon as his hand closed around it, he was washed over by a strange warm sensation. Lifting the wand, he waved it around and, out of its tip flew bright sparks that filled the whole room.

"Bravo," Ollivander clapped his hand jovially, "Though it is quite strange."

Even though Harry had a bad feeling about this, he couldn't stop himself, "What is so strange?"

"You see," Ollivander began in his mysterious way, "The Phoenix who gave the feather for this wand happened to give just another one. And that wand, Yes Mr. Potter gave you that scar," he had lifted the bang that covered Harry's scar and traced it slowly with a finger.

"That would be seven Galleons," the change was so abrupt that it left Harry hanging for a moment.

Snapping out of his daze, he took out the appropriate amount of money and placed it on the shelf before walking out of the shop.

"What was all that about?" Harry asked Hagrid as soon as they were out of shop.

"It's just old Ollivander," Hagrid said jovially, "he likes to mess with people."

"Not that," Harry shook his head, "I meant the last part. What did he meant by that a wand gave me a scar. For that matter, why were all those people flocking to meet me?"

"You mean you don't know?" Hagrid asked astonished.

"Know what?" the frustration at the situation was beginning to show in his voice.

"You mean, the Dursleys never told you?" Hagrid still was in surprised state.

"Tell me what?" Harry asked again.

"I never imagined Harry Potter himself wouldn't know," Hagrid mumbled scratching his beard, "This would be difficult."

"What are you saying? I can't hear you," Harry strained his ears.

"Nothing. Look it's almost lunch time. Why don't we eat and I'll tell you what you want to know," Hagrid suggested.

"Finally," Harry sighed.

There next stop was Leaky Cauldron, who seemed to buzzing with people almost as much as before if not more.

"Hey Tom," Hagrid said leaning over the counter. The counter seemed to groan under the weight and for a moment Harry was worried that it might break under the stress, thankfully it held, "Can we get a private room for lunch?"

"Of course," Tom smiled knowingly, "Wouldn't want others to disturb you. I imagine you already would have enough of that. Come this way."

Tom led them to a small room situated to one side. It had one table and a few chairs in it.

"I'll be back in a few minutes to take your order," Tom smiled and left them.

Sitting down on the table, Harry picked up the menu. Seeing the name of all these delicious dishes made him remember that he didn't have a hearty breakfast at all. Feeling the weight of the coin's bag, he was sure he could eat his fill for once.

"Have you decided on your orders?" Tom had reappeared. For some strange reason, the bar keeper himself was waiting instead of sending one of the guys working here that Harry had seen. He was sure it had to do something with why he was so famous.

After placing the order, Harry bombarded Hagrid with questions about the wizarding world, who tried to answer as best as he can. This series of question continued well into the lunch.

It was only when the lunch was entering its final phase did Harry ask the question that was on his mind.

"So Hagrid," Harry began, "You promised to tell me about the reaction of these people?"

"Well, Err, that's because you are famous Harry," Hagrid answered uncomfortably.

Harry rolled his eyes, "Even I can figure that part out Hagrid. I am asking, why am I famous?"

"That's a bit hard to explain," Hagrid said, "You see, you vanquished a great evil when you were one year old."

"A bit more detail Hagrid please?" Harry asked impatiently.

"Alright alright," Hagrid waved his hand in air, "Not long ago, there was an evil wizard He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named. He wanted to get rid of all muggleborns and half-bloods because they weren't pure. He brought with himself a reign of darkness and terror. People feared him and his servants, the death eaters. None who crossed their path ever lived. He would have taken over the Whole Britain if it wasn't for one man, Albus Dumbledore. He and his organization, they were the only thing that stood in front of You-Know-Who."

Hagrid took a break to take a sip from his large tankard, "Your parents, Lily and James Potter, they were a part of the fight against him. Great People they were. You-Know-Who tried to recruit them several times but each time, they refused. I guess, he got tired and wanted to remove them from his way but, one day, he showed up at the Potters residence. Lily and James, they tried to put up a fight against him, but they were no match for his power and cruelty. I don't why, but after that he tried to kill their baby. Maybe, he wanted to make a clean job of it. And then, something unusual happened. He vanquished. An act that none of the great families, Bones, Prewetts, McKinnons or even Albus Dumbledore couldn't do, an one year old did it. That's why you are famous Harry. That's why you are the Boy-Who-Lived."

"B-But I was only one year old," that was the only thing the shock riddled brain of Harry Potter could manage.

Hagrid shook his head, "That's the mysterious part. No one knows what happened. He just vanished. Some says he is dead. I reckon there wasn't enough human left in him to die."

"So you are saying he is still around?" Harry questioned.

"I guess. At least that's what Professor Dumbledore think," Hagrid answered.

"Are you finished sir?" Tom took that moment to interrupt, "I am here with your bill."

After paying the bill Hagrid stood up, "Alright Harry, time to take you back to your relatives."

Hearing that, Harry became alarmed. He absolutely wanted to avoid Dursleys now that he was here.

"Why don't you go ahead Hagrid, I can go myself," Harry answered.

"What are you saying Harry," Hagrid sounded worried, "It's my job to get you back. I don't want something to happen to you."

Despite the situation, a smile broke out on Harry's face. This was the first time that someone showed him real concern, "Really Hagrid, I'll be fine. You attract too much attention in the muggle world with your large size. Besides don't you have that package to deliver?"

"You are right Harry. I should take it as soon as I can to Hogwarts," Hagrid opened the door to the main hall and walked out, "Come on I'll at least see you to the exit."

Together, they walked out of Leaky Cauldron where Hagrid stood for a moment, "You sure Harry, you will be alright alone?"

"I am positive Hagrid," Harry answered, "I'll be off now. See you later."

"Good bye Harry."

With that Harry started walking. He kept on till Hagrid became a distinct blur. The streets of London were busy no matter the hour so, it wasn't that far ahead. He kept wandering the street for a few more minutes making sure that Hagrid had enough time to return. When he was completely sure, he returned to Leaky Cauldron.

After the Lunch hour, the crowd in the Leaky Cauldron had thinned a bit. Still there were too many to suit Harry's taste. Ducking his head, he made his way to the counter where Tom was busy with a ledger.

"Um, I would like to rent a room?" Harry spoke, trying his best to hide his nervousness.

Tom looked up from his work. Seeing Harry there a look of surprise crossed his face, "Mr Potter!" he exclaimed albeit in a low voice, "You asked for a room? Why would you require a room alone? Don't you have guardians to return to?"

Harry cleared his throat, "They aren't in the country at the moment and it would be too much of a hassle to return to their home now. I don't want to bother them too much," it was the best thing Harry could come up with on the spot.

"If you say so Mr. Potter. It isn't our policy to pry in our customer's business more than needed," Tom replied with a grin, "Here's the key to your room. Do you need any help with your luggage?"

"No I think I can manage," Harry too smiled taking the key from Tom.

Dragging his trunk up the stairs, he dumped it to the side of his bed in room while he himself plopped down on the said bed. Now that he had successfully evaded going to the Dursleys for the next month, next thing on the list was how to spend his time here?

Harry guessed he could reach his course book. Get a head start on the year. Now that there was no Dursleys pressure on him, he could finally work his best. But right now, the thing that intrigued him the most was the wizarding world. It was just so fascinating. Everything looked so different from what he used to. It was like he was transported to a different era completely. The culture looked different, the currency was different. Even how people travelled seemed different. There was just so much that he wanted to learn. Though, for now he was tired and the learning had to wait.

In the evening, Harry got up and locked his room. Going to the back door, where the entrance to the Diagon Alley was located, he tapped the appropriate brick and he entered the Diagon Alley for the second time in that day.

Unlike the first time, he had only one stop to make this time. That was florish and Blotts. It wasn't hard to remember where the bookstore was located. Harry had gawked enough at every shop that there was a whole map of Diagon Alley etched in his mind already.

Entering the shop, he made his way to the Wizarding Customs and Tradition section. Which turned out to be a mistake. Almost every title suggested a dull and boring read. Grimacing, Harry picked up a few books which looked to be mildly interesting. He was about to make his way to the counter to pay for them when a book in a corner caught his eye. It was a book on Wizarding noble families. Finding the topic fascinating, Harry added it to his collection and went to the counter.

After paying for the books, Harry straight went to Leaky Cualdron and in his room. Sitting down in the chair, Harry opened the book on the noble families and started reading it. In the beginning was a list of the noble families currently present in Great Britain. That was where Harry had his second set of shocks today. The name 'Potter' was written among a few others. The first thought that came to his mind was why was his family name written there?

So Harry started reading the book in earnest. The more he read, more he was surprised. The noble families possessed a kind of royal stature in the wizarding world. They possessed certain rights and leeway. Moreover the Wizengamot, wizarding parliament of sorts, was almost exclusively made up of noble families and their side families. It truly was like a throwback to an old era. Another interesting titbit about the noble families was the ownership of family Vaults in Gringotts, a vault used to store family heirloom and main family treasury. Harry certainly didn't remember seeing any kind of heirlooms. Also, the goblin specifically said his trust vault. This just meant he had another visit to Gringotts and probably another Vault to see.

All that though was for tomorrow. Now he had to eat something. Reading through this almost dull book had left Harry famished. It was just a dreadful reminder that it was going to be hell reading those books.

Stretching, Harry got up and made his way down. Dinner was a pleasant affair for Harry, who hadn't had two consecutive full meal in, well, forever. After dinner, he decided to do some reading on his course. Coming up empty on any kind of preference that he might have had, Harry randomly grabbed a book, which turned out to be Transfiguration. Shrugging his shoulders, Harry sat down and started reading it.

The next day started much later than usual for Harry. The Transfiguration book had turned out to be more interesting that Harry's initial assessment. So much so, that he had finished the first chapter completely. At first, he was slightly upset at having no match stick to practice with but, a bright idea had struck him. He had made his way downstairs and asked Tom for some. At first, Tom looked a bit surprised but then he had smiled and given Harry a couple of boxes.

"Practicing Transfiguration eh? Mr. Potter. Believe me, you will need it. Professor McGonagall's a strict teacher," those were his words as he hand him the boxes.

Harry had nodded at the old barkeeper's words and ran back to his room. He had practiced till late at night and had then fallen on the bed in exhaustion, wearing the same clothes that he had previously.

Shaking his head, Harry snapped out of his musing and starting preparing for the day. Today he had the visit to his possible Family Vault on the list. Taking out his clothes, Harry gave them a critical once over. Even though he now owned several pair of new robes, sadly all he had in muggle clothes were his cousin's old cast off too big for his frames. Vowing to find some time to buy new clothes, he dressed up in his best pair of jeans and shirt and made his way down.

The Leaky Cauldron was brimming with activity like yesterday. Harry ordered his breakfast and sat on an out of the way table. Many people looked at him strangely for being a lone kid eating all by himself, but Harry paid them no mind. He had kind of understood that if he wanted to survive in Wizarding World, he had to tolerate these stares.

Finishing his food, Harry paid the bill and made his way out in Diagon Alley. Today, his destination was Gringotts. Being the only Wizarding bank, it was located at a prominent and easy to access place which Harry reached quite easily. Entering the bank, Harry felt a bit nervous. What if his family had no family vault? What if he made a fool out of himself?

Question like these were circling in his head but Harry shook them off fiercely. He was here now. Might as well get it over with. He looked around the bank trying to spot a free clerk. Finding one, Harry quickly made his over.

The clerk had, like other, his head bent over the table reading something. Harry cleared his throat to get his attention. The goblin looked up from his table as if being interrupted was the last thing he wanted.

"Yes?" the displeasure was prominent in his voice.

"Um, I am here to discuss about Potter Family Vault," Harry said nervously."

The goblin gave Harry a once over, "And you are?"

"Potter, Harry Potter."

The goblin nodded his head and motioned for another goblin to come closer.

"Take Mr. Potter here to his accounts manager," the clerk said authoritatively.

The goblin nodded and motioned for Harry to follow him.

The room that they entered next was even more lavishly furnished than the main hall.

"If you will wait here Mr. Potter, you accounts manager would be with you shortly," the goblin said and disappeared down another door.

Harry didn't have to long. Only a few moments later, a goblin dressed in an expensive suit entered in the office.

"Welcome Mr. Potter. My name's Gornhuk. It's a pleasure to finally meet you," the goblin look more mild mannered than the other goblins Harry had encountered so far.

"Um, Hello," Harry was feeling distinctly out of place in his jeans and t-shirt, standing in such a beautifully decorated office and in front of such well-dressed goblin.

"I was told, Mr. Potter, that you wanted to discuss some matter related to your family vault," Gornhuk went straight to business as soon as he sat down.

"Yes," Harry tried to compose himself, "The first thing I wanted to ask was, why I wasn't notified of my inheritance before today? Isn't it the duty of bank to handle such matter?"

The goblin smiled for a moment, "Mr. Potter, it looks like you still have a lot to learn about the wizarding world. It is the policy of Gringotts to leave such matters up to concerned parties."

"But what if the original party dies without notifying the other party beforehand?" Harry questioned.

"There is no such special circumstances mentioned in the bylaws," Gornhuk answered, "So the policy remains the same."

"But that's ridiculous," Harry exclaimed. He couldn't believe his ears, "That could mean that a person might never get his inheritance if someone died in an accident. There could be something important."

"Mr. Potter," the goblin smiled, "A policy is a policy, whether it is ridiculous or outstanding. We have to follow it. If, hypothetically speaking, the dying party did want to give something really important to the receiving party, then he should have made sure that it reaches him in case anything happens to him."

Harry just shook his head. There was no point in arguing with the goblin, "Can I visit my Family Vault?" he asked.

"Of course Mr. Potter," Gornhuk stood up, "Come, I'll escort you myself."

Harry expected to return to the main hall and then enter the tunnels the below but, he was surprised to find that the tunnels were directly linked to the manager's office.

This time, the cart ride was much longer. Harry guessed there were going into the older parts of the tunnel. After a while, the cart stopped in front of a huge gate that looked ancient. Gornhuk was the first one to get out the cart, dusting his suit. Harry followed suit, not soon after.

"Now, Mr. Potter," Gornhuk turned towards him, "you just need to place your hand there," he pointed towards a hand impression on the door, "and the door will open."

Harry nodded his head and stepped forward. He placed his hand the on the place and waited.

Suddenly there was intense prickling sensation, "Ouch!" Harry exclaimed, retracting his hand, "What was that?" he looked at his hand. There was blood flowing from his palm but, within moments it was gone.

"There Vaults are protected by strong blood wards," Gornhuk explained, "Only a person with the right blood can enter."

Right then, there was a sound of gears grinding. Harry turned around only to find himself in front of an amazing sight. If he thought his trust vault was huge, then he had no words to describe his family vault. And there wasn't just gold in it. There were all sorts of jewellery, paintings, book shelves and other things that Harry couldn't see.

"Um, Gornhuk, can you tell me just how much I own?" Harry asked with wonder.

"I thought you might ask that," the goblin replied with a toothy grin as he fished out a couple rolls of parchment out from his pocket, "there entail all the assets, whether monetary or non-monetary, belonging to the Potters."

Harry's eyes glazed over as he looked at the parchment. There were some huge numbers written there. Of course, he had no idea about the working of wizarding economy but guessing from the cost of his school supplies, he had to be filthy rich. Though, Harry had to admit that was a lousy base.

As Harry stood there, having no idea what to do, his eyes were caught by a podium, standing elegantly to one side. He approached the podium, only to find there was a single letter on it, addressed to him. Deciding, he would read it later, he put it in his pocket.

"Alright Gornhuk let's go," Harry turned towards the goblin who was standing outside of vault.

In a short while, they were once again sitting in Gornhuk's office.

"So Mr. Potter, Is there anything else that I might help you with?"

"No, that would be all," Harry said standing up when he remembered something, "Gornhuk. It is such a hassle to come to Gringotts again and again. Is there a way, I can access my money without having to come here?"

"You could employ our infinity bag services Mr. Potter," the goblin answered pleasantly.

"Infinity bag services?" Harry questioned.

"Yes, Mr. Potter, as the name suggests, it is a bag with an infinity charm cast on it to help when large amount is to be procured through it. It is directly linked to the user's vault. All you have to do is think about the money that you need. If the amount of money is present in your vault it will appear in your bag. Of course it is fool proof. Only the user has the right to access it. Although it is more than a bit expensive."

"I don't think money is a problem Gornhuk. Also do you deal in Wizarding to muggle money conversion?"

"Of course Mr. Potter, we deal in all kind of muggle currencies. We have dealings with all the major muggle banks to help meet our client's wishes. Of course a reasonable exchange tax is also applied on transaction." Gornhuk seemed to have gone into his business mood.

"What's the exchange rate?" Harry asked

"Currently," Gornhuk opened one of the many drawers on his desk and took out some papers. This was the first time Harry had seen papers in wizarding world. Gornhuk flipped through them for a while, "Ah, yes. It is roughly Five pounds to a galleon with an exchange tax of one galleon per hundred galleon transaction."

"And the pouch?"

"Infinity pouch service costs twenty galleons per month. Transaction limit is ten thousand galleons. If it exceeds that amount then ten galleons are charge for every thousand galleons of transaction.

"Isn't that a bit too much?" Harry questioned.

"I already told you Mr. Potter. Infinity pouch services are expensive. It is understandable if you don't want it now," Gornhuk answered placing the papers back.

"No," Harry shook his head, "Please link one to my accounts."

"Of course Mr. potter. Please sign on this document and the infinity pouch would be yours," Gornhuk placed a parchment in front of him.

Signing the document, Harry returned the document to Gornhuk whose eyes showed a strange light for a moment. He rang a bell and a goblin carrying a pouch entered the office.

"Here is your pouch Mr. Potter," the goblin stretched out his hands towards Harry who took it and stuffed it in his pocket.

"Is there anything else Mr. Potter?" Gornhuk asked.

"No this is everything," Harry smiled and stood up.

"If you say so Mr. Potter," the goblin too stood up, "I must say it was a pleasure doing business with you."

"I feel the same," Harry smiled not really feeling the same. Honestly, he found the whole bank ridiculous. Their policies were strange and their rates too high.

Returning to his room, the first thing he did was open the letter that was addressed to him. As he expected, it was from his parents. The envelope included a copy of their will and a letter.

Firstly, he decided to read the will. Beside Harry, four other people were mentioned in their will. Harry guessed they all, too, were dead. It was after that, that Harry received his most recent set of shock.

Next he took the letter that was written by his parents. He did read the letter in a short while but, it him took much longer to process everything that was written in it. The information that the letter contained was just too mind boggling. Why Voldemort attacked them. His supposed destiny. The manipulations by Albus Dumbledore. It was all written in the letter.

It took him a long time to digest what he read, but when he did, the first emotion that bloomed inside him was anger. Not a raging inferno but a boiling, calm, magma that would wait its chance and then destroy everything in its path.

Revenge. That was the only thing on the mind of eleven year old Harry Potter, as his life with Dursleys flashed in front of his eyes. All of them would pay. Dumbledore, Voldemort. None would be spared when the time came. Till then, he had a lot to learn.

…..


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Hello Everyone! Thanks for the reviews and the follows here's the third chapter for you. If you like it then review :) or don't. Just knowing that you read it is enough for me. Enjoy!**

Chapter 03:

Harry was currently standing in Florish &amp; Blotts. He had decided to learn a lot of magic but he had not counted on one thing, His negligence of wizarding world. He was standing in front of rows of books trying to decide which book to read, there were books on charms and hexes, turning things, different types of magic but just what kind of magic did he need to overcome a Dark Lord and a powerful old coot? He had already bought a book titled "most influential people of the century" and another whose name was "History of Dark Lords". He wanted to know about his enemies as much as he can, but first he had to get at least that knowledge which was public, not to mention if they were as strong as he thought, after all it takes a lot of power to rule a country, he needed to get stronger too. While he knew that no matter how strong he got he needed allies with him to deal with them, he also knew that only a strong person can lead them. That's why Harry wanted to learn as much as he can. Finally getting fed up and deciding that since he could afford books on any subject, he decided to buy any book that might catch his eye. While he was putting books on Dark Arts in his bag, he saw a bushy haired girl approach him, who was eyeing him and the books he was putting in the bag.

"Hello! What are you doing? My name's Hermione Granger, I am going to be in First year in Hogwarts. Are you a First Year too? I am a muggleborn, It's my first time in magical society, it really is fascinating, What about you?" The girl said it all in a single breath.

Harry was amused by the monologue. He was about to answer her, when she spied the books in his bag. Her face took a shocked look.

"Why are you reading books like that? Are you insane? . They are too advanced for you. You would just be wasting money, besides they are not from curriculum, if you don't read books from your curriculum you are going to fail you know. There's a reason those books are on curriculum, here I will give you books on the curriculum," with that she grabbed his hand and forcefully dragged him to the school book portion.

Harry was not amused by this, if anything he hated to be dragged around and being bossed over like that. It reminded him of Dursleys and how they bossed him around. He gritted his teeth; he won't let anyone else boss him around, no matter what's the reason. He shook his hand free from her.

"Listen here! Miss. Granger, I know perfectly well which book to read, I don't need your guidance thank you very much," Harry said to her with gritted teeth.

The girl huffed, "Well, how very ungrateful of you, here I was trying to help you and instead of getting a thank you, I am being told off."

"Well no one asked for your help," shot back Harry and went back to the part of shop with advanced topics. He still needed some more books. He really didn't like the girl. She didn't even ask why he was taking the book. It was like she thought she knew everything. How could she decide that something was too advanced for him without even knowing him, just because she thinks it's advanced, doesn't mean he won't be able to do it.

Harry got the books and paid for them on the counter, the girl was there too paying for her own books. But Harry paid her no mind and walked out of the store. He had a lot of work to do.

…..

Harry soon settled in a routine. He would wake up early everyday and eat his breakfast. Afterwards he would go out into Diagon Alley. At lunch he would come back and eat his lunch, afterwards he would go back to his room and read the extra-curricular books as he had termed them. He would come down for dinner and after that he would read his course books and practice the spells and then would fall asleep around midnight.

It had been a week following the same routine and now Harry had two more weeks till Hogwarts. He had made some acquaintances in the Diagon Alley like Mr. Fortescue from Florean &amp; Fortescue knew him quite well as Harry had a sweet tooth and would come daily for ice cream, not to mention The owner of Florish &amp; Blotts also knew him quite well from his frequent visits to the book shop.

Right now Harry was strolling in Diagon Alley doing some window shopping, when a family of redheads caught his sight. He had never seen so many redheads together at the same time. He was watching them with interest when a girl caught his eye among them. She was short with fiery red hairs and freckles all over her face. She was walking behind her mother and with a tall gangly boy who looked to be the same age as of her. '_Well she's cute, wonder if she's coming to Hogwarts this year?"_ Harry was just about to turn his head away, when he saw the redheaded boy place his leg in front of the girl and trip her over. The girl fell face first on the ground. The mother turned around and started berating the girl over her clumsiness. The girl started protesting but her mother wouldn't listen to her. Finally the girl stopped, hung her head and listened to her mother silently. Even from far Harry could clearly see the hurt in the girl's eyes. This scene was just too much familiar to Harry, He remembered how over the year his own cousin would set him up and how aunt Petunia would always scold him.

He couldn't take it anymore and decided to talk to the girl. The girl was slowly falling behind others. Harry gathered his courage and started walking towards the girl. By the time he had reached her, the family had went inside Ollivanders and girl was hanging outside the shop.

"Aren't you going to go inside?" Harry asked the girl.

The girl was startled and turned around to look at Harry, "No I already have my wand," Harry could see the girl was lying.

"I saw that incident you know," Harry said, the girl visibly tensed, Harry knew that feeling, he wouldn't want anyone else to know either, "I know that feeling, I don't want anyone else to find about my life either."

What Harry said was true; he had not told anyone about his life at Dursleys. He didn't want their pitying looks or their sympathy; it only served to make him feel even bad about himself.

The girl's eyes widened, "You mean…." She trailed off but Harry knew what she was going to say.

"Yes, my family didn't treat me very well either. Whatever I did it was always wrong. I do all the chores and my cousin always does nothing," Harry said smiling sadly at the girl.

The girl's eyes widened, she never thought that she would meet anyone who would understand her, but here was a boy who not only seemed to understand her but had also gone through similar experience.

"I understand what you are saying," said the girl.

"My name's Harry, Harry Potter, so what do you say want to be my friend," said Harry while holding out his hand.

The girls eyed widened once again, but they turned normal at once, She shook Harry's hand and said,

"I am Ginny Wealsey, pleased to meet you, and yes I'll be your friend."

Harry grinned, "So Ginny, can you meet me back here, while your family is busy somewhere else?" he asked.

Ginny nodded, "I'll try but I can't promise, My Mum keeps a very close eye on me,"

"I'll wait here for you," answered Harry and he walked to Florean &amp; Frotescue which was close by and sat there.

A few minutes later, Ginny's family came out with the same boy who had tripped Ginny waving around a new wand, Harry's eyes narrowed at him, he didn't like bullies and he just reminded him so much of Dudley. It was a given that Harry won't like him much.

The family afterwards went into Madam Malkin's shop. Harry sat there waiting for Ginny, while eating his ice cream. He wasn't expecting Ginny anytime soon so he was very shocked when he saw Ginny sneaking out of the shop and running towards him. Harry hurriedly finished his ice cream and met her halfway.

"Hello Harry," Ginny said panting, there was a bit of a distance between the shops.

"Hello Ginny," Harry answered, "Come on I have got something for you," all the while tugging Ginny by her arm.

"Wait Harry, what do you mean by that?" said Ginny.

"You will know," answered Harry with a mischievous grin.

Soon they were once again standing in front of Ollivanders. Ginny's mouth gaped open when she saw their destination.

"Harry you are not planning what I think you are planning?" When Harry nodded, she at once shook her head, "I can't Harry, we have just met I can't accept something like this now."

Harry turned and looked in her eyes, "Please Ginny, You are my first friend, accept it as a gift for our friendship,"

Ginny sighed, she couldn't argue now, she knew the feeling of loneliness that you have when you don't have friends, and she knew that it would break Harry's heart if she refused.

"Alright," Ginny surrendered at last.

It seemed like the fate was on their sides as it didn't take long to find the perfect wand for Ginny.

"12 inches longwood with Unicorn heartstring, A very rare match, Almost as rare as Mr. Potter's. I am glad that you got your own wand Miss. Weasley," said the old wand maker while giving Ginny his wand.

"What do you mean Sir," asked Harry while giving him the money.

"Mr. Potter I have my ways. When you live to be as old as I am your learn a few tricks on the way," answered Ollivander as he took the money, "Now run along, I suspect you are in a Hurry,"

They quickly got out of the shop. Before departing Ginny hugged him quite tightly,

"Thanks for the wand Harry, I will see you on Hogwarts Express right?"

Harry grinned foolishly and nodded his head vigorously. Ginny giggled lightly and hid her wand inside her shirt so it wouldn't be found out by her family. She thanked Harry once again and then quickly ran back to Madam Malkin's shop where the Weasleys were still present fortunately.

Harry was still standing there grinning foolishly, thinking about the hug from the young girl, '_I don't mind hugging her,'_ thought Harry as he remembered how nicely she was developing. He shook his head. It was nice that he had made friends with a nice girl but there will be time for perverted thoughts later. Right now it was almost lunch time. And lunch time meant study time.

…..

Ginny was lying in her bed smiling from ear to ear. She couldn't believe she was friends with someone who was just like her, someone not liked by their family, granted Charlie and Bill loved her quite a bit and her dad was also on her side, but their house was ruled by her mother and she didn't like her nor did Ginny like her either, but that was besides the point now. Right now she was happy for having another friend. Luna was a great friend and she would do anything for her, but the similarities that she and Harry shared were just too many. It didn't matter that he was Harry Potter the Boy-Who-Lived, she admitted that while she was shocked when she found out that the person who was abused like her was none other the Boy-Who-Lived, it didn't play any part in her befriending him, she had already decided to be his friend, the fact that he was Boy-Who-Lived was just an added bonus. She rolled over on her side. Yes Harry Potter, he was going to help her in getting freedom from her overbearing mother. Her excitement about going to Hogwarts had just doubled.

…..

Harry was packing his things. It was finally September First, the day he would be going to Hogwarts. He had already asked Tom about how to get on Platform Nine and Three Quarters. Tom was another person that Harry had befriended over the course of an almost month, after all Harry suspected that he would be staying quite bit over the years here. Harry's excitement was bubbling over going to Hogwarts. But that wasn't the only reason he was excited. After two weeks he was finally going to meet Ginny again. While two week was not such a long time, for Harry it was absolute torture, he couldn't wait to meet his first ever friend again. He had dressed up in his best clothes that were new since he had done some shopping for necessities.

Harry dragged his trunk downstairs. It was still early so he was the only person there.

"Finally going Mr. Potter? It is September First," asked Tom smiling at Harry. He had grown quite fond of the boy over time.

Harry nodded his head and ordered his usual breakfast. In half an Hour he was done with breakfast and ready to go. He cleared up his tab at the bar and said bye to Tom. Soon he was standing outside of Leaky Cauldron. He let out a nervous breath and prepared to call out for a taxi. It was time to go.

…..

Tom watched the young boy walk out of the pub. He had been barkeeper at Leaky Cauldron for the fair share of his life and had seen many things in his life. He had seen many types of people in his life. He had seen more than enough people depressed. But then came young Harry Potter. He was expecting a young cheerful boy but what he saw shook him to his core. The young Potter that everyone thought of as a hero, He certainly didn't expect him in those rags that he wore on the first day, no, but still that was not what shocked him the most. It was his eyes, the kind of eyes that should never be on a child so young and innocent. Those eyes were haunted as if they had seen some kind of tragedy, big tragedy. But that was not it. Those eyes were filled with hatred, the kind of hatred that you can say is pure evil. He didn't know what it was, but he felt drawn to the boy. He was no idiot, he knew at once that young Potter's guardians were no saint. That's why he hadn't questioned much when he had lied about his guardian. It was clear that the boy didn't wanted to go back and Tom was not going to send a young innocent person back to what he thought was a hell hole. He was not going to be a part of any abuse on a child. During the three weeks that he remained there, his affection for the boy just grew, how someone could not fall for such a pure, innocent person, Tom didn't know and the more he knew the boy the more he hated his guardian. How could they mistreat such a pure soul? Now as he saw him walking out of the door, he made a vow to himself, that no matter what happens, he would stand by the boy. He knew that he couldn't do much but what he could was provide a room for that innocent boy, a place away from that hell hole of his guardian, where at least he could breathe easily.

…..

Harry was currently standing in King's Cross trying to find the right wall to run into. The very thought seemed wrong to Harry. He was currently considering whether the Wizards were just idiots or they like to make a fool out of themselves and his opinion was getting readily biased in the favor of former as he couldn't seem to find the right one. '_Did it really hurt for them to put up some kind of marker?' _Thought Harry, even with the grumbling in his mind Harry was able to find the right pillar. Looking around so that no one was looking at him and will think him nuts for running at a wall, he started running towards it, as the pillar approached, Harry closed his eyes hoping that he found the right one, otherwise he was looking at a very painful landing. Harry felt an odd sensation came over him and opened his eyes. In front of him was the most magnificent train engine he had ever seen but that was not saying much since he had not seen many. Attached to the engine were countless wagons as magnificent and grand looking as the engine itself. The train was Scarlet and Gold in color with occasional steam coming out of the engine. It was the Hogwarts Express. Harry wasted no time in loading up his trunk on the train and finding a compartment. All the compartments were empty since there was still half an hour left in departure and students were just arriving. Those who were already there were standing with their parents or siblings spending some last moments before Christmas. Harry quickly settled in his compartment and started waiting for Ginny anxiously.

It was a long wait since the Weasleys didn't come till almost the departure time. But when they came, Harry was instantly able to recognize them and who wouldn't with their distinctive red hairs and freckles which stood out in almost any crowd.

But Harry was not looking for the Weasleys he was looking for just one Weasley. After some searching he was finally able to spot her behind her mother when her mother bent down to remove the smudge from the Bully Brother's face. Harry at once waved at her.

Since they got to Platform Nine and Three Quarters, Ginny was looking here and there trying to find Harry but she couldn't find him anywhere. She started to become worried about him, when she caught a moment out of the corner of her eye, instinctively she turned to look at him and it was then when she spotted him waving madly at her and grinning. She too grinned and waved back at him, mindful that no one in the family noticed her. After saying her good bye as quickly as she can, she boarded the train wanting to meet Harry as soon as she can, but first she had to find Luna. It was not a long search as she was able to find her quite easily sitting in a compartment all by herself.

"Oh! Hello Ginny," Luna said after she noticed her standing in the door.

"Hi, Listen Luna grab your things I have got another compartment with a friend waiting," Ginny said hurriedly.

"Oh you mean him, Ginny," Luna smiled knowingly.

"Yes, now get up, he is waiting," answered Ginny, she of course had told her blonde friend about his meeting with Harry Potter but had not told her about his life deciding that it was secret that Harry should reveal himself.

Luna got up and grabbed her trunk from above, wanting herself to meet this Harry Potter about whom her best friend was so excited.

...

Right now Harry was sitting in his compartment waiting impatiently for Ginny to arrive. She had boarded the train soon after waving at him. He heard the compartment door open and was about to greet Ginny when he saw another blonde girl standing there with her. Harry looked at her strangely not knowing who she was.

Ginny seeing the strange expression on Harry's face at once introduced to them each other, "Harry this is Luna my best friend and Luna this is my other best friend Harry Potter."

Harry got up from his seat and shook Luna's hand politely, "How are you Luna?"

"I am fine, Harry," Luna answered while staring at Harry with her wide blue eyes. Harry was becoming quite uncomfortable under gaze when she suddenly exclaimed, "Oh you have got a Nargles infestation too, that's why you became such good friend fast, she has got one too," she smiled at him knowingly like she had solved a great mystery.

Harry quite confused with the blonde girl just looked at Ginny in confusion who giggled, "Never mind her Harry, she is like that, but she won't be this much fun if she wasn't."

Harry just nodded his head unsure how to reply to that.

"Well, why are you two girls just standing in the door way, come in," said Harry trying to shake off the weird vibes that he got from Luna. He helped the girls board their trunks up. Afterwards both of them sat opposite to Harry.

"Er, Luna What are nargles?" Harry asked suddenly, Ginny just shook her head sadly at Harry while Luna launched into complex explanation of Nargles.

Harry's mind was right now boggled with all the weird information about nargles in his head. Once Luna had started her explanation, it lasted well over five minutes and Harry couldn't for the life of him remember the reason he had asked about nargles. During that Ginny was trying to stifle her laughter behind her hand. But it had served as a conversation starter and right now all three of them were busy chatting and laughing occasionally at Luna's odd comment. They had been chatting like this for half an hour, when the compartment door slid open to reveal a tall gangly redheaded boy. It was the bully brother of Ginny, standing there with his trunk.

"Can I sit here, everywhere else is full," said the boy with his ears reddening.

Harry didn't like the boy from the Diagon Alley and he didn't want Ginny to feel uncomfortable, "I am sorry but we are saving a seat for a friend, he has gone to the loo, he will be returning shortly, so we don't have any opening," Harry lied.

"Sure we do, Ginny get out, I am going to sit here," said the boy first speaking to Harry and then glaring at Ginny.

Ginny glared back at him. Harry too was not feeling very cordial towards the boy he got up from his seat quite angry at the boy for bullying his first friend.

"Now, listen here, she got here before you, so you have no right to throw her out. Now go and sit where you were sitting for the previous half an hour," with that Harry slammed the door shut on his face.

He sat back down, taking deep breath; it doesn't do any good on getting worked up over little things,

"So what were we talking about," asked Harry looking at the girls as the conversation started again.

…..

It seemed like the two girls and one boy sitting in that compartment were destined to be disturbed again, as the compartment door opened once to reveal this time a platinum blonde boy with two really fat boys behind him. Harry looked up and instantly recognized him. It was the arrogant boy from Madam's Malkin. The boy looked around the compartment, his face contorted in a look of disgust when his looked at Ginny, then his eyes fell on Harry who was sitting on the opposite side.

"They are saying down the train that Harry Potter is in this compartment, You must be him, Listen here, You will get to know that some people are better than others," said the platinum blonde boy , "My name's Draco Malfoy and I can help you find the people of your caliber," he stuck out his hand as if wanting to shake his hand.

Harry looked at the outstretched hand and then slowly looked up at his face; even now his every word was dripping with arrogance and superiority, besides Harry didn't like the look that he shot at Ginny.

"Just get lost Malfoy, I don't need your help in making friend," said Harry not even bothering to get up.

Young Malfoy's face reddened at hearing Harry so casually dismiss him, "Watch out potter or you will end up just like your parents," Malfoy snarled.

"Well, if you don't get out now then you might end up like Voldemort," said Harry casually. He turned towards Ginny, "Well tell me more about the magical world,"

Malfoy seethed at Harry so casually dismissing him, He didn't know what he was doing, he would show him who was superior, with that Malfoy slammed the door shut and stalked down the train.

Harry watched Malfoy slam the door and sighed. He had already made an enemy in the world, but it didn't matter, he was just going to be a nuisance at most. Moreover he couldn't do anything about it. He watched Luna take out a magazine and held it upside down.

"What's that?" Harry asked interested in Wizarding papers.

"Oh! This Harry?" Luna said while looking at the paper, "Its Quibbler, My dad publishes it."

"Can I have a look?" asked Harry.

Luna nodded and took out another copy from her bag, "I always carry an extra one, in case humblubbers steal one," Luna explained.

Harry took special care in not asking what humblubbers were, his head was still buzzing about Nargles. He took the paper from Luna and opened. The first very first Headline shocked him.

"Minister Fudge a Goblin Eater?," Harry read out loud. Ginny giggled at him and Luna just smiled.

"Don't worry Harry, Quibbler always publish these kind of stories," said Ginny knowing full well of Luna's Father's eccentricities."

" I don't know but it certainly explains why the Goblins are always so gruff," Harry smirked. After that they spent rest of the trip exchanging outrageous theories about Ministry of Magic. When the food trolley came around, Harry bought them all candies, at first the girls were hesitant but soon the temptation won out.

They kept chatting the whole trip and were quite surprised when it was announced that they were approaching Hogsmeade.

"Wow time sure does fly when you are having fun," Ginny commented offhandedly.

Harry and Luna nodded their head and hurriedly changed into their robes. They reached Hogsmeade in half an hour and were asked to leave their belongings on the train. Harry not wanting to leave Hedwig, his personal beloved owl , behind opened her cage so she could fly and hunt. After they have disembarked from the train they saw a huge man calling the first year children over. It was Hagrid. Harry greeted Hagrid when they were closer to him. Hagrid just smiled at him and instructed him to get onto a boat. All three soon got onto a boat and were joined by a bushy haired girl, who on seeing Harry just huffed and turned her head away,"

"Alrigh' ye lot, are ye ready?" asked Hagrid who had one boat to himself and probably needed one to himself, "Okay then, let's go," with that he tapped his umbrella to his boat and all of them started moving.

It was not a long ride, soon they were asked to be ducked and beware for the first view of Hogwarts castle. Harry's breath caught in his throat when he looked at the castle. It was truly a magnificent sight, The huge castle was bathed in a white light that gave him a strange glow and made you believe that Hogwarts itself was pulsing with magic.

After they reached the bank, Hagrid pushed open the doors located on the shore, on the other side was a witch standing in green robes with her hair in a tight bun, she radiated sternness. Harry took a gulp, he did not wanted to cross this witch, unknowingly matching the thoughts of his other two companions.

The stern Witch led them to a small enclosed room and asked them to stay there.

"Welcome to Hogwarts! My name is Professor McGonagall and I will be teaching you Transfiguration here," said the Witch in a stern voice, Harry suddenly understood what Tom meant when he made that comment on the needlesticks, "While here you will be sorted into Four houses, Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff and Slytherin. Your house will be like your family, you are expected to follow every single rules and regulation, good behavior will earn you house points while rule breaking will result in loss of school points, do you understand me?" Prof. McGonagall said. After seeing everyone nod she continued, "Very well, all of you wait here and I will return for your sorting," with that McGonagall left them in the room.

As soon as McGonagall left the room whispers started in the room, Harry too turned towards Ginny and Luna who were standing on his side,

"How do they sort us?" Ginny just shrugged her shoulder.

"They sort us through a hat, a magical hat," Luna said suddenly in her trademark dreamy style. But like everything weird associated with Luna this too was ignored. Suddenly they heard some shrieks from the back of the room and they turned to see the source. There were ghosts floating in through the wall, they looked to be in deep discussion about someone named Peeves. They greeted the children when they noticed them and just like that floated through the adjacent wall.

Soon after Professor McGonagall returned and took them into another hall, this one much more majestic not to mention much larger.

Harry noticed a strange looking battered hat sitting on a stool. Harry was surprised, it seemed like Luna was right. The Hat opened her mouth and started to sing a song about different houses in Hogwarts. After the hat finished Professor McGonagall opened a roll of parchment and started calling out names.

"Abbot, Hannah"

A blonde girl with pigtails ran towards the stool and wore the hat, The hat took a minute and shouted,

"HUFFLEPUFF,"

The second last table erupted in cheers. The girl took off the hat and ran towards the table.

"Bones, Susan," and with that the sorting continued. Soon it was the turn of one of three friends.

"Lovegood, Luna," mentioned Professor McGonagall. Luna walked out dreamily and wore the hat. The hat was so big that it came to Luna's shoulders.

The hat seemed to take its time before it shouted,

"GRYFFINDOR," Luna took off the hat and walked towards the table which was cheering.

After that it was time was Harry's sorting.

"Potter, Harry," whispers broke out in the hall at the mention of Harry's name and even the teachers turned towards the sorting line to catch a glimpse of Boy-Who-Lived. He took a deep breath and started walking towards the stool blocking out all the whispers and put on the hat, the hat came to Harry's eyes.

Like Luna, the Hat seemed to be taking its time with Harry but just like her it finally shouted,

"GRYFFINDOR," The Gryffindor table erupted in huge cheers at getting the Boy-Who-Lived. Many people offered Harry to sit with them but Harry ignored them all and sat with Luna who had already made sure to save two seats for her friends. They both smiled at each other and turn towards Ginny who was still standing in the line, Harry had made sure to leave the middle seat vacant for Ginny. They both patted the seat and smiled at her, she too smiled back albeit a bit nervously.

It didn't take long for Ginny's turn to come and she was sitting on the stool waiting to be sorted. Just like the two of them the hat took its time with the sorting, Harry wondered what it was that the hat took so long with just the three of them. But just like the two friend she was sorted in the same house.

"GRYFFINDOR," shouted the Hat. Ginny immediately took off the hat and ran towards her two friends sitting there. All of them grinned at each other for getting in the same house.

"Well, all of us got into same house," Ginny commented still smiling.

"I knew that all of us were going to be in the same house, after all we are friends," Luna answered dreamily and both of her friends too nodded their head and waited for the sorting to end so that they could fill their starving stomachs, as sweets can only keep you sated for so long.

After the sorting, Dumbledore rose up from his seat. His eyes were twinkling as if by magic. Harry's eyes narrowed as he saw the old man rise. This man was mainly responsible for destroying his life. His glare didn't go unnoticed by his two female friends.

"Hello and welcome back to another magical year at Hogwarts. I won't keep you away from your food as I am sure you would be starving. I only have a few words to say before. Those are nitwit, oddment, blubber and twit. Without further ado please eat!" and with that food appeared on all the plates across the tables.

Harry's eyes opened in wonder as he saw so much food at once in the same place. Sure the Dursleys were well off but even with the huge appetites of Vernon and Dudley they had never cooked this many dishes at once. He noticed his friends helping themselves to different dishes. Not wanting to be left behind Harry too started to help himself to different dishes.

While eating Harry looked up at the staff table to look at the different teachers. Professor McGonagall was in some heated discussion with Dumbledore who was just smiling serenely while nodding at her. To her left sat a small man, it was a wonder that Harry noticed him. Further down the table sat Quirell talking to a hooked nose greasy haired man. The man looked over Quirrel's eyes and Harry at once felt sharp pain in his scar. His hand involuntarily slapped on his forehead. Both of his friends looked up concerned for him.

"Are you alright Harry?" Ginny asked worriedly.

"Yeah, I am fine just a headache," Harry said trying to placate her.

Ginny nodded and went back to her dinner. Harry looked back at the staff table the hook nosed professor was still glaring at him. Harry groaned internally, He had not been here even for couple of hours and a professor already hated him. He hoped that he didn't have any classes with that man.

Feast soon ended and Harry was able to eat his full for the first time since he went to Dursleys. He felt quite satisfied. Dumbledore once again stood up and tapped his goblet to draw attention. Silence fell over the hall at once. Dumbledore cleared his throat for the speech.

"I have a few start of terms notices for you. First of all Mr. Filch our esteemed caretaker had asked me to remind you that practice of magic is forbidden in hallways. Also the list of banned items has also been updated please take a look at it while going to your houses to see which items have been banned. Also First Year student will do well to remember that Forbidden Forest is just that, forbidden. Some older students will do well to remember this as well," the twinkle in Dumbledore's eyes increased at this comment, "Also I would like to remind you all that the left hand corridor on the third floor is off limit. You all will do well to remember that if you don't want to die a painful and gruesome death." There were some nervous laughs at that but most student body just remained silent. "Now its time for us to sing the Hogwarts Song," said Dumbledore while spreading his arms wide. Harry noticed that at the mention of the Song the smile on the teacher's faces become quite forced.

All of the students stood and started singing, some faster some slower, it was like a huge swarm of bees had somehow penetrated the Great Hall. After the Song Dumbledore once again clear his throat,

"Ah! Music the magic of our soul! Now it's time to go to bed off to your houses," with that the students scrambled towards the doors. A redheaded boy that Harry thought was one of Ginny's brothers, Percy if he remembered correctly, the prefect one, stood up and called the first years to him. After gathering all the first years they started moving towards the Gryffindor tower where they would be staying for the next seven years.

After reaching the Gryffindor Tower they were given the password for the common room for the next month. The entrance of the common room was guarded by the portrait of Fat Lady who welcomed them all warmly. After getting inside the common room, all of them were given a lecture on proper etiquette by Percy Weasley and then sent off to bed. The three friends also said good bye to each other and walked up the stairs to their respective dormitories.

The two girls climbed the stairs to the first year dormitory which was located at the first floor. They were sharing the room with three other girls Parvati, Lavender and Hermione. While Parvati and Lavender seemed the giggly fan girl types of girl, the type that Ginny and Luna didn't want to befriend, Hermione seemed alright, but her attitude towards Harry had left both of the girls unsettled. While they hadn't known Harry for long the talking with Harry which lasted for several hours had at least revealed that Harry was quite a nice person and anyone who didn't like him had to be an idiot or a bad person. But there was one thing that had unsettled both girls.

"Ginny did you notice how Harry was glaring at Dumbledore?" Luna questioned Ginny in a serious tone after making sure that the other girls were fast asleep.

"Yeah Luna, I don't know why but it seems like Harry hates Dumbledore," Ginny answered with a frown.

"Don't worry Ginny, I am sure he must have a reason," consoled Luna.

Ginny nodded her head and with both girls also closed their eyes trying to fall asleep,

Unbeknownist to the girls, at that time Harry was having a strange dream. The dream included a strange turban wrapping around his head and asking him to transfer to Slytherin. But Harry knew that he would never transfer to Slytherin. Finally he had made friends and both of them were in Gryffindor. He was not going to leave them behind. Soon after the dream ended and Harry fell asleep never to remember the dream again.

...


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 04:

**A/N: Here you go folks, the much awaited (I do hope it's much awaited. At least by some) next chapter. And before I forget A very merry belated Christmas (At least to those who celebrate it.) As always enjoy the story and review if you want to. Or not. Depends on you!**

Next day Harry woke up early. He was excited. Today was the day he would start his new school. Not to mention he was going to study with his friends for the first time. He just hoped that Ginny and Luna wanted to study with him too. He quickly got up from his bed, a very marked improvement from what he slept at, at the Dursleys and surveyed. He shared the room with three other boys, Seamus, Dean and Ron, Ginny's brother. Ron had tried to talk to him again in the night. At first Harry talked to him but when he insulted Ginny he refused to ever talk with him again. He thought that Ron could be a nice guy, but if he was going to keep insulting Ginny he was not going to befriend the boy. Dean and Seamus on the other hand seemed quite friendly and Harry had made casual acquaintance with them. All in all, Harry thought he was going to have a very pleasant year.

Harry collected his toiletries and walked to the loo. There was just one thing that worried him, where was he going to practice his magic that he was learning besides what he was taught? The castle was huge though and Harry supposed that he could find a couple of unused classroom suitable for practice. He also needed to be fit, as stamina played an important part in a duel. Harry decided that he was going to start exercising.

After showering and completing his daily ritual he dressed in his new Hogwarts robe and walked down to the common room to wait for Ginny and Luna. It was still early though so Harry thought he was in quite a wait, so he was quite surprised when he spied the two girls walking down the stairs from the girl's dormitory.

"Good morning Ginny! Good morning Luna!" Harry greeted the two girls.

"Good morning Harry," the girls chorused and plopped down on the sofa beside him.

"You girls are up early," Harry asked.

"Couldn't sleep much due to excitement," answered Ginny.

"I wake up early every morning Harry, otherwise naglewagers would attack my eyes," Luna replied serenely.

Harry just shook his head and smiled. Luna's weird personality was the thing that made her so much fun.

"What about you Harry? You were up even before us." Asked Ginny.

"Me? I always get up early," Harry said shrugging his shoulders.

"Hey! Not fair why do you two like to wake up so early. I like to sleep in," Ginny exclaimed.

"Don't worry Ginny I'll wake you up early every day. Don't want my friend to fall to naglewagers," said Luna with a smile.

"No thank you! I happen to like my sleep very much," Ginny retaliated.

"Oh come on Ginny, You had to get up early now otherwise you will be infected by naglewagers," Harry chimed in.

"See! Even Harry agrees with me," Luna said, her eyes glinting in triumph.

Ginny glared at Harry who just grinned back, "Fine, But be ready for payback potter, I won't let you off the hook so easily," threatened Ginny.

Harry just continued smiling, "OK OK Ginny, So who wants breakfast."

With that the three friends got up and went down to the Great Hall for breakfast.

It was still early so there were no students in the Great Hall. Only a few teachers like Professor McGonagall and Dumbledore were sitting at the staff table. It was weird to see the Great Hall so empty while last night it was so full of life and vibrant. The three friends sat on the same spot as the previous evening. Even though it was still early food was still being served since it appeared as soon as they sat down.

"It must be really hard to make food for so many students," Ginny wondered.

"I read that Hogwarts employs hundreds of elves for preparing the food," Harry commented.

"Oh House Elves! I would really like to meet them," Luna exclaimed in happiness.

"But we don't know where the Kitchen is." Ginny answered with a frown.

Luna's face fell at hearing that, seeing this Harry began consoling her, "Don't worry I am sure that we will find it soon," he said in an attempt to cheer her up.

Luna's face cheered up at that and she began eating with a gusto.

They were halfway through the breakfast when Luna asked a completely unexpected question from Harry.

"Harry, why were you glaring at the headmaster last night?" Luna asked while chewing.

Harry's mouth dropped in shock, "You noticed?" he finally able to get it out.

"With the way you were looking at Dumbledore it was hard not to," Ginny said with a roll of her eyes.

Harry put his fork down and considered his option, he had not known the girls for too long but they were his first friend and Harry found it hard to lie to his friend. Moreover Ginny had gone through the same experience that Harry had and Harry was quite sure that Luna had gone through some trauma too, moreover the girls were really nice. It was hard not to trust someone when you shared so much with them. With his mind made he looked at the two girls.

"Listen, I'll tell you girls later ok," Harry said seriously.

The girls too nodded their heads, they knew that whatever Harry was going to tell them it was bound to be very serious. With that the three friends returned to their breakfast with occasional chitchat about their classes.

Soon the students started trickling in and in no time the Great Hall was full. Professor McGonagall came in and gave them their schedule. Their first class was Transfiguration. Deciding that they had eaten enough they stood up to go to the class early. Soon the three were standing outside of the classroom waiting for other students to arrive.

"Girls! Do you know what we have for our first lesson?" Harry smirked.

The girls shook their head and Harry gave a sigh dramatically.

"Really! You should read more you know," Harry said wanting to keep this charade for a bit longer but he soon quelled under the combined stares from the two girls.

"Fine! You girls are no fun," Harry muttered.

"Oh Harry we are much fun but not when you want us too," Ginny giggled, "Now tell us so that we can prepare for it."

"Okay, First lesson is turning the matchstick into a needle." Harry answered.

"How do you know?" Ginny asked suspiciously.

Harry then explained to her how Tom the barkeeper at Leaky Cauldron had told him. Ginny nodded her head and took out her book to read about it, Luna too mirroring her actions.

Harry noticed that while Luna's textbook was new, Ginny's one was old, Harry sighed, and he didn't like seeing her friend like that. Not only her books were old but Ginny's robes were also second hand. He had seen quite a few people ridicule her for her second hand robes already and it had not been even a day. Ginny tried to hide it but Harry knew she was quite hurt by it. He decided that he would tackle the topic later when he had told them about Dumbledore's manipulation.

Soon the doors of the classroom were opened. The three friends entered the classroom only to find it empty bar a tabby cat sitting at the teacher's desk.

"Where's professor McGonagall?" Harry asked to no one in particular.

"Don't you see Harry, she is sitting right there on the table," Luna answered serenely.

"You mean that cat is an animagus?" Ginny asked shocked.

"Well I wouldn't be surprised if our Transfiguration professor is an animagus. After all animagus training is just very advanced Transfiguration," mused Harry, he was very pleased with that since he had read that animagus training required Master level Transfiguration and only a handful were able to do it. This just meant that Professor McGonagall was an excellent professor quite adept at her subject.

The three friends quickly took the front seat row while looking at the cat, who just nodded her head at them. This just confirmed to them that she was Professor McGonagall in her animagus form. The next one to enter was Hermione Granger who stood stock still after entering the class not able to believe that someone else got here before her. She quickly broke out of her reverie and took the adjacent desk to them while glaring at them.

"Why is she glaring at us like that," Ginny whispered.

"Don't know and don't care," Harry answered crossly.

Luna turned her head and looked at Harry, "What did she do to you?" she asked with a hint of amusement.

"Long story short, she is bossy and I don't like bossy people. She thinks that she is the only one who's right," Harry said quite irritated.

"You seem to know her very well," amusement laced Ginny's voice.

"Not really, I have only met her once, when I was staying in Leaky Cauldron," Harry answered.

"You sure make opinions about people easily," Ginny said while grinning.

"I can't help it if they are just so easy to read," Harry said grinning too.

Ginny's retort was cut short by the arrival of the rest of the class. Almost all the class was there except for some people. Actually all the class was there except for three Gryffindor boys.

Sitting close to the professor they could see her getting irritated.

"Uh oh, they are going to get it," Harry whispered.

"They deserve it," Ginny's voice was filled with venom more than likely directed at her older brother.

"I hope they haven't fallen victim to Nargles," Luna said worriedly.

Fortunately Luna's worries were unfounded as the three Gryffindors burst into the classroom.

"Thank Merlin the Old Hag isn't here," exclaimed Ron the thickheaded in his usual tactful display that is expected of him. He looked around the room and started walking towards the front row.

"Harry mate! What are you doing in the front row? Let's go back or we'll have to listen to the professor," Ron said.

"Well, Ron!" Harry said annoyed at being bothered again by the stupid redhead," As listening to the professor is the standard way of learning, I'll sit here Thank You."

"Why would you want to study so early, it's just the start of term. We still have a lot of time left," said Ron stupidly.

"Since Mr. Weasley, the basics are usually taught at the start of the term and they are very important for the rest of the year," suddenly a voice said behind Ron.

Harry and the group looked up to see Professor McGonagall standing over Ron with an annoyed expression on her face.

"Seat Now Mr. Weasley! And a detention for insulting a professor."

"Yes Professor," said Ron timidly obviously afraid at seeing the stern professor so annoyed.

"Miss Lovegood! Five points for recognizing an animagus," Professor McGonagall said to them and begin walking towards the front desk.

"Transfiguration involves turning an object whether animate or inanimate into another object," started professor McGonagall, "It is one of the most complex branches of magic but with enough practice all of you can master it, and I will be expecting nothing less than that from all of you," at that professor McGonagall gave them all a stern look, "Now as you are first years you will be dealing with easy transfiguration, I am sure all of you have bought the prescribed book?" at that the class gave a nod, "Very well then, turn to page five and start reading on how to transfigure a matchstick into a needle, Miss Brown please pass these matchsticks to your classmates," Professor McGonagall gave the girl basket with matchsticks.

The class opened the books to the given page number and started learning while Harry just smirked. He had already mastered this transfiguration long ago. He waited till the girls had finished reading the text.

"Ok then, ready to try? Remember magic is all about intent and power," Harry whispered to the girls.

The girls nodded and took out their wands. Harry turned towards his matchstick and concentrated on turning it into a needle while saying the incantation. The matchstick instantly transfigured into a flawless needle. He looked towards the girls who were having some difficulty. Their needles were still blunt.

"Flawless Transfiguration Mr. Potter!" said Professor McGonagall who had somehow arrived at their desks without anyone noticing. She truly had the stealth of a cat, "take five points for Gryffindor, and you too girls keep practicing," with that she moved forward to inspect other students, leaving Harry smirking.

"Come on girls it's not so hard look I did it on first try," Harry mock taunted them.

Ginny just glared at him while Luna smiled serenely. On the next try Luna also was able to transfigure her matchstick into needle. Ginny not wanting to be left also casted the spell again with perfect results.

"I see you three are done with the task," said Professor McGonagall who had crept on them once again without any one of them noticing, it was getting unnerving, "Start reading on how to reverse this transfiguration," with that she left again.

The group opened their books again and started reading the next paragraph which was on how to reverse the transfiguration, when Harry felt someone stares on the back of his neck. He turned to find Hermione Granger glaring at him while holding her wand, he just shrugged and went back to the reading.

The only other one who finished the task in the period was Hermione Granger who even after successful transfiguration kept glaring at them like they had killed her puppy.

"What's her problem?" Ginny asked while glaring back at the girl, she certainly needed no incentive to get riled up.

"I think she's infected by wrackspurts, they cause you to lose your mind," Luna said dreamily.

"Well let's just keep away from her or we'll get them," Harry joked, but Luna nodded her head like he said the most brilliant thing in the world.

"That would be good Idea Harry,"

"Ok Loony we'll discuss wrackspurts later right now we have class," Ginny said while shoving the two of them out of the class.

"Loony?" Harry asked confused, that name didn't sound a good one to him.

"You know Luna! How she always goes about wrackspurts and Nargles so I started calling her that as a joke but now it's a nickname," Ginny explained while Luna just smiled.

"Oh! OK," Harry just shrugged.

…..

Rest of the day classes also passed in a whirl and before they knew it they were finishing Dinner. As Harry promised they were now in search of an unused classroom so that he could explain his attitude towards Dumbledore.

"Ok Harry now tell us why were you glaring at Dumbledore like he did something horrible to you?" Ginny asked after they had seated themselves comfortably at the seats present in the room.

"Well it was horrible what he did," Harry sighed.

"What do you mean?" Ginny asked.

"You know about my life right?" well Dumbledore was the one who placed me there," Harry said.

"I don't understand Harry, it's not like he would have known," Ginny said confused.

"You are not going to understand let me tell you from the start," with that Harry started telling them about the prophecy, about Dumbledore's plan to take him away from his parents, how his parents suspected that Dumbledore wanted them dead so that he could train the future savior of the world. How Dumbledore sealed his parent's will without anyone knowing and placed him with the Dursleys when he should have been sent to his Godfather.

"And I am sure that Dumbledore must have done something to my Godfather and my parent's friends so they couldn't take custody from him," Harry said. All through the tale his voice was bitter and filled with hatred towards the man that basically sent him to hell.

The girls just listened to him patiently all through the tale. Ginny was the first one to act, moving forward and wrapping her arms around Harry.

"It's alright Harry, I understand your anger towards him, I would feel the same way too if someone had done something so horrible to me," Ginny soothed him while Luna just stood there with a reassuring smile.

"Daddy always thought that Dumbledore was an alien trying to destroy the world," Luna said dreamily effectively breaking the somber mood of the room.

"Well I wouldn't be surprised no human can have a beard that long and be so weird," Harry joked.

"So what are you going to do about it?" Ginny asked turning the conversation towards a serious topic again.

"Well there's the prophecy and I also want revenge for my parents against Voldemort, so I want to train so I could be stronger than him. But I don't think Dumbledore will approve, he seems to have other plans for me," Harry thought aloud.

"Well that just means that we have to fight a war on two fronts," Ginny said with conviction.

"Yeah," Harry nodded absently before he processed the whole sentence, "What do you mean "we"?"

"Well, It's not like you can take both of them on alone," Ginny huffed, "and you have told us so that means that you trust us and you are our friends so it's not like we are going to leave you in such a big mess all by yourself, count us in," she looked towards Luna who was just staring at the ceiling.

"Of course Ginny, if we left him alone Merlin knows what kind of creatures will he attract. We need to protect him," Luna said with all seriousness.

"Hey! I don't need protection from you girls," Harry said indignantly.

"Of course you do Harry," Ginny said sweetly, "Now when can we start training."

"You do know what are you getting yourself into?" Harry said slowly.

"Harry look at us we don't have many precious people in our life and we are not going to let you go towards your death just like that," Ginny said sternly, "Now when can we start Potter."

Harry was beginning to like the girl more and more.

….

And so the training against two top wizards in Britain started for three children. They decided that every day after dinner they would come into the empty classroom and do their homework and after that they would study ahead, so they could be better in their schools and study other books Harry had bought for him in Diagon Alley.

But right now they were sitting in the potion classroom waiting for their Potion teacher to show up. This was not a class Harry was looking forward too. The professor had not made a good impression on him at the sorting feast.

The door opened with a bang and in came the dreaded potions professor, for one second, standing in the dimly lit doorway he looked just like a bat turned human. The potion professor swept through the class just like a bat, making Harry wonder whether he was a bat animagus.

"Keep your wands away, there would be no foolish wand waving involved," the professor spoke in barely above a whisper, but in the chilled silent classroom it was carried to every student clearly. "The art of potion making is a very delicate one and I am sure none of you dimwits will ever get it," Snape looked at the whole class, "If you so desire I can teach you to….." and with that the potion professor droned on. The gang didn't pay much attention to him till Harry's name came up.

"Look! We have celebrity here," Snape sneered. Harry suspected that sneer wasn't due to the celebrity part but rather who that is.

"Potter tell me! Where would you find a bezoar?"

"Seeing professor as you are a potion master in your cabinet," Harry retorted. He didn't like being singled out.

"One point from Gryffindor for your cheek potter," Snape sneered.

"What do you mean Sir? I am sure the Bezoar would be there."

"That's not what I meant Potter," Snape looked livid.

"Well Sir considering how we are not supposed to know the last chapter of our textbook without learning, I would say that's the right answer."

"I expect my students to learn their textbook beforehand Potter and it's not my fault if you are too lazy to even do that," The potion master was now leaning at their table.

"Why professor, afraid that people would know that you can't really teach if you actually started teaching?" Harry smirked at the greasy professor.

"Five points from Gryffindor for insulting a teacher," Snape's sneer intensified, "All of you open your textbook now," Snape said to the whole class.

The rest of the class was spent in the same way with Harry and the girls questioning the professor on every step of the way. If he was not going to make it easy for them than they were not going to make it a walk in the park for him, as for losing points and failing the class they could care less. Points didn't matter and Snape was going to fail them anyway.

They were confronted by an angry Hermione Granger outside the class.

"I can't believe you three," She started laying on them as soon as she spotted them, "Don't you have some kind of respect for a teacher? What you just did was the most horrible thing I have ever seen. Can you believe how many house points we lost because of you?"

"What do you mean? What did we do?" Harry just stared back at the girl.

"Don't give me that," he girl said, "You were disrupting the class by asking those stupid question," at that Ginny snorted. The girl glared at her before continuing, "Not to mention you shouldn't talk back to a professor."

"So you are telling me that I should have just sat there silently and let him bully me," Harry said slowly while looking at the girl.

"Hmph, he was not bullying, he just asked a simple question to which you gave just a stupid answer," the girl huffed.

"Why don't you just get lost," Harry was suddenly feeling quite angry at the girl. The girl just huffed again and started walking briskly.

"Poor girl, she should do something about all those humdingers around her," Luna's calm and serene voice broke through Harry's anger filled haze.

"Well we should get to lunch I am feeling quite hungry," Ginny complained. Harry just smiled at them now completely calm.

"Oh I don't know, I don't think they will have enough left to satiate your hunger," Harry smirked at her.

Ginny smacked him on the arm and started walking towards the great hall, Harry shared a grin with Luna before hurrying to catch up with her.

…..

Defense class was very boring for Harry and the girls. They weren't taught any cool magic but just read through the different chapters assigned by Quirrel while he would fidget and kept looking out of the window as if death itself was coming through. But that was not the only weird thing about Quirrel. When he thought that no one was looking he would often talk to himself. It would have been just weird if there weren't words like master involved. Harry and the girls often saw him muttering incoherent words through which words like that were the only ones clear. This gave Quirrel a very suspicious air.

"I think Quirrel is after whatever is in the third floor corridor," Harry said after a particularly grueling training session. The spells themselves weren't that powerful but being just eleven made it very hard to cast them.

"I don't know maybe he's just weird I wouldn't rule that out, rumors are that he encountered some nasty spirits in Albania," said Ginny.

"But still I just can't shake this feeling of danger from him though," Harry said, "What do you think Luna?" Harry asked Luna who as always was staring in the space.

"I think that he is infected by Nargles and wrackspurts both, they can be a pretty nasty combination you know," Luna added her own two Knuts of wisdom.

Harry shook his head it was futile as always to get an opinion out of Luna when she didn't want to, Ginny just giggled back at him.

"Okay then enough break let's get back to training we are not going to defeat two powerful wizards by laying on our bums," Harry said while getting up.

At that Luna's eyes focused and Ginny's giggles disappeared. No matter what they always took their training seriously.

….

Right now Harry and the girls were standing outside on the Quidditch pitch waiting for the flying lesson to begin which they were unfortunately sharing with the Slytherins. Madam Hooch surveyed the group present in two rows.

"All present," at that the group nodded, "Okay then place your hand over your broom and yell UP, now begin," at that the whole pitch rung with the shouts of UP but the only brooms that responded were of Harry, Ginny and Luna. Ron's broom just rolled over while Malfoy's broom rose so hard that it smacked him right in the face, unfortunately it was the tail end of the broom. But still the smack was hard enough to knock him off his feet. The whole class snickered at Malfoy's predicament.

"Mr. Malfoy I told you not to stand so close to your broom, Next time pay attention to my warning," Madam Hooch scolded him.

Malfoy stood up, his whole face was red, whether it was from embarrassment or from being smacked by the broom, they didn't know, but still it was hilarious.

Next came actual flying, they were ordered to sit on the broom and push hard on the ground for takeoff.

"Mr. Weasley your grip is wrong, correct it," Madam Hooch scolded Ron this time.

Harry and the girls concentrated on the flying rather than the weird antics of their classmate and soon they found themselves hovering in midair.

"Good, you three now start accelerating your broom slowly," Madam Hooch instructed before turning to others and helping them in taking off.

Flying came easy for all three and soon they were playing a game of tag racing along the whole pitch oblivious to the others, performing some good Quidditch without even knowing.

…..

Professor McGonagall was sitting in her office checking the essays assigned to her class. She stood up quite tired of checking them and gazed out of the windows. She knew that it was time for flying lessons. She approached her window wanting to see how it was going for her house. She looked down and as expected found most of the first years either just hovering or trying to get into the case. But not all of them were like that; she noticed three figures flying in the distance pushing the old school brooms to their limits while performing complex aerobatics, at least complex for the first years. She narrowed her eyes trying to distinguish who these three were all the while hoping that at least one of them were from her house. As it seemed they were in a desperate need for a seeker and she didn't want to lose the cup once again to Severus. She didn't like the man very much. He was completely biased in favor of his own house. She complained against him to Albus many times but he never listened to her. She didn't understand why Albus favored him so much.

While she was busy in her musing the figures had drawn closer. It seemed like she had hit a jackpot today.

…

"Come on Potter, can't catch me?" Ginny taunted Harry while hovering over him, Luna as always was busy in her own words slowly drifting over her broom, but it was not like she was easy to catch either, whenever he tried to approach her she would just shift like the wind had blown her that way.

"It's not my fault, you two have been flying for merlin knows how long and it's still my first flight," Harry shouted indignantly.

"Aww, poor little Harry can't catch even two girls," Ginny taunted him again flying ever closer.

"Why you!" Harry lunged at her but she was just out of reach. Preparing his broom for another race he was about to go after her when they heard a whistle. Looking down they saw Madam Hooch waving them over. Standing beside her was Professor McGonagall looking as stern as ever.

"Uh oh! What did we do wrong?" Harry asked.

"Don't know, let's find out," Ginny said and started flying towards the two teacher, Luna trailing behind her.

Harry shrugged his shoulder and started descending towards the professors.

….

As soon as they hit the ground, Professor McGonagall was over them, "Follow me," she said and started walking towards the castle.

The three shared a glance and started following the stern professor, they didn't dare ask her what it was.

Soon they were standing outside Professor Flitwick class and Professor was asking for someone named Wood. A tall lanky boy stepped out of the class looking confused.

"Wood meet these three, you are going to test them. I am sure that one of them could be our seeker," said Professor McGonagall.

At the mention of Seeker, wood's face lit up and he started looking over them.

"You are right professor all of them are built just perfectly, I'll test them this evening," Judging by Wood's face it looked like he wanted to get out on the pitch right now but was restraining due to Professor McGonagall.

"Good Now return to your class and you three too return to your lesson," with that she started walking back to her office.

"Wow, I didn't know that you could play Quidditch in the first year," Ginny breathed out, she seemed really excited.

"Why not? It's not like there was anything written about not playing Quidditch for First year," Harry asked.

"You are right, but not many team captains recruit first years since they can't even have their own brooms and school broom as you just saw are ancient," Ginny explained.

"Oh well! I can't wait till evening, Quidditch seems exciting," Harry said smiling at the girls and then he frowned, "I hope it doesn't cut much time from our training."

"Relax Harry, we need some fun too, besides that would be even if we are selected at all," Ginny said.

"Yes Harry! Nargles can't attack you in the air," Luna said dreamily.

"Oh alright! By the way how do you play Quidditch?" Harry asked.

….

All three were standing outside on the pitch waiting for woods who was carrying or rather dragging a huge box towards them.

"Hello you three, my name is Oliver Wood and I am the Gryffindor team captain," Wood greeted them.

They too greeted him back and introduced themselves.

"Well alright you three, I hope you know about Quidditch, This..." at that Wood brought out a ball that was struggling to escape from him, "...is a bludger that you smash through a beater bat," at that wood pointed towards a black bat lying there. He with great difficulty put the bludger back and brought out a red ball this time, " This is Quaffle that you put through the hoops to gain points, " Wood pointed towards the three hoops, " and finally this is the golden snitch," Wood took out a small golden ball whose wings were fluttering.

"Now seeing as all of you are brilliant flyer according to Prof. McGonagall, I would be asking you to try out in all the positions," Wood said, "Starting from seeker position, we'll take these balls as a snitch," wood said as he brought out a bag full of golf balls, "I'll throw these balls and you'll get them one by one, ladies first then,"

At that Luna walked out first and kicked from the ground and starting hovering.

"Ready!" without waiting for a response wood threw the ball towards Luna who just absently caught it.

With time woods throw become wider and wider but Luna just caught them all with a serene expression like she was just sipping tea.

Next up was Ginny whose performance was as brilliant as Luna although not as calm.

Harry performed in much the same way catching all the balls brilliantly.

"Well, all three of you are very brilliant," Wood frowned, "Let's try for other position, try to throw the bludger through the hoop," wood instructed.

First up was Luna whose shot went wide.

"Luna you are supposed to put it through the hoop," Ginny snickered.

"Oh!" Luna exclaimed with wide eyes, "But there are baby humdingers there?"

"Don't worry about them, I am sure they would be fine," Ginny said while snickering.

"Oh, if you say so," Luna said calmly and put the bludger right through the hoop, Wood just looked at them with wide eyes and Gaping mouth.

Harry and Ginny performed in the same way.

"I don't want to be a beater my arm hurts," Ginny complained while rubbing her shoulder, Harry just smirked at her.

Chaser try out went in the same way all three of them managed to push some goal through wood.

"It's really a hard decision all of you are brilliant," Wood said with a frown.

"Well, I want to be a chaser, seeking is boring," Ginny chimed in.

"Well that settles it then, you two," Wood motioned towards the girls, "can be reserve chasers and you Harry will be our Seeker, Now I expect you at 6 in the morning sharp," Wood said before taking the box and trying to drag it through the pitch, leaving the three open mouthed.

"Did he just say six in the morning," Harry asked.

"Suddenly Quidditch doesn't seem that much exciting," Ginny muttered.

The other two just grinned at her before dragging her off to Dinner.


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: There you go folks another timely update. Hope this continues. And a very late Happy New Year to all my readers (Wherever you are). Time for you to enjoy the new chapter.**

Chapter 05:

Two months had already passed since Harry and the girls came to Hogwarts. During that time their friendship had only deepened to the point where there were almost no secrets among them. Everything was shared between them, all of them knew how miserable their life was at home, well except for Luna but then again she was seen as an odd entity here in Hogwarts. But Harry and Ginny managed to save her from most of the people ridicule. Not many people wanted to make fun of a friend of Boy-Who-Lived it seems and Ginny had already made a reputation for Hexing before thinking. It seemed like they managed to bring out their inner selves outside due to each other.

While their life at Hogwarts had mostly been pleasant there were still some things that they would rather not face or rather some people, namely including Ron, Hermione, Malfoy and Snape. Ron would usually annoy them at mealtimes or during classes trying to sit beside Harry only to be sent away by an annoyed group. Hermione would mostly glare at them for finishing a work earlier than her. Snape would make their life miserable in potion on the cost of having a headache. Whereas Malfoy would usually taunt them in corridors or sometimes during meals only to be ignored like he wasn't there.

Working in a group it seemed like had it benefit's, as they would help each other when the others couldn't understand a subject. Like Harry excelled in Transfiguration, but Charms was Ginny's area, and oddly enough, that means not surprisingly, Luna always managed to somehow remember all of History of Magic lessons whereas Harry and Ginny couldn't even keep their eyes open in the class. Potion was usually shared. Harry and Ginny would pair up whereas Luna was with Hermione. She was driving the Bossy girl nuts.

Quidditch practice was very exhilarating even with Wood's odd hours practice. They would practice Quidditch at least four time a week, it provided a great distraction from all that work that they were doing.

Their training was also going greatly, after practicing for Quidditch Luna had the odd idea of adding exercise to their training, claiming that it would keep some noblewobles away that sapped your energy, which they took to mean that they should increase their stamina to last longer in a duel. Other than exercise, their magical training was also going brilliantly, they had finished the first year course and were now moving on to second year one along with some higher level curses and jinxes, those weren't taught till OWL years but were essential in a duel.

It was now Halloween and Harry was feeling depressed. It was the day when he lost his parents. He couldn't understand why he was feeling so down, he didn't even remember them, but then again every parent share some deep connection with their children.

Even with the depression the girls were not going to let him brood so he had to eat a healthy portion of his food even though he didn't want to but he thought it would be better to eat his food than be on the receiving end of some obscure hex that Ginny might have discovered during the research. Today was also the day when they were going to start casting the levitation spell in charms class. They had already mastered it with the light spell but then again they had completed their first year curriculum.

As Always Harry and the girls was the first one to cast the spell successfully earning them fifteen points from Professor Flitwick and another glare from the bushy haired girl. She was sitting next to Ron today and was trying to teach him how to cast the spell right.

"I almost sympathise with the poor girl," Ginny whispered to them.

"Well I don't, No one asked her to teach him, all the trouble would be her own fault," Harry answered.

And trouble did happen when Hermione demonstrated to him how to cast the spell rightly and Ron snapped at her for being an insufferable Know-it-All. Ginny could swear that the girl was crying as she pushed past him. Seeing as it was her fault they continued with their classes. Hermione didn't show up for the rest of classes which was odd since she almost seemed in love with the classes.

"Well I know why Granger didn't show up for the rest of classes," Ginny announced at Halloween feast as they were eating.

"Oh really?" Harry asked interested as to why the bookworm didn't attend the classes.

Ginny nodded, "Apparently she was crying in the bathroom all the day."

Before either of the other two could comment the door to the Great Hall burst open, they turned to see who it was and saw Professor Quirrel running towards the Staff table screaming,

"TROLL, TROLL IN THE DUNGEON, thought you ought to know." And with that the Professor passed out in the middle of the Great Hall.

Silence reigned in the Great Hall for one second before commotion broke out. All the students were trying to get up and run towards the doors.

Dumbledore stood up from his seat and shot fireworks from his wand, silence once again reigned in the Great Hall, all the students looking towards the staff table.

"STUDENTS PLEASE REMAIN CALM, PREFECTS PLEASE LEAD YOUR HOUSE TOWARDS THEIR DORMS AND TEACHERS WITH ME PLEASE," Dumbledore's magically enhanced voice rang out through the Hall.

Afterwards they got in a line behind Percy who was shouting for all the Gryffindors to come towards him. As they were walking out of the Great Hall they suddenly remembered something, all of them looked at each other with wide eyes before exclaiming

"Hermione!"

"I'll inform Percy," Ginny said before shouting for her brother who turned towards them annoyed at being interrupted in his leader mode.

"What's the matter Ginevra?" Percy asked.

"Its Hermione she's in Bathroom," Ginny answered ignoring the use of her full name.

Percy's face paled before he handed over the lead to the other prefect.

"I'll tell the teachers," with that he ran towards where the teachers had gone.

"I don't know whether teachers will get there in time," Harry said worriedly.

"Well there's only one thing we could do," Luna answered all calmness gone for once.

The three nodded and discreetly walked out of the group before turning and running towards the bathroom.

They were just a few steps away from the Bathroom when they heard a blood curdling shriek from inside. They looked at each other in horror before rushing and bursting the door open, but the scene that met them froze them right on the spot.

It was Hermione, Lying there against the wall with her head smashed in. If they hadn't known that Hermione was in the bathroom they wouldn't be able to recognize her. There was not a single piece of her skull left, her whole face was mangled and covered with blood. It was a scene that would have even the bravest of people puking.

But the three Gryffindors just stood there too shocked to even move, but not long after the shock was replaced by anger, she didn't deserve to die lest so horribly. Yes she was annoying and bossy but that didn't mean she should die. The anger welled up inside them turning into a raging inferno. As one they raised their wands and trained it at the troll who was just looking confusedly at the corpse. The confusion only served to make them angrier.

"STUPEFY," they yelled as one the spell that they have recently learned.

But the spell had no effect on the thick hide of the troll who just stumbled back from the onslaught. They only got angry at this.

"STUPEFY," they yelled again but the results were same as before. The troll just stumbled back. He looked mad now, lifting his hand in which he was holding a wooden bat he tried to smash the three Gryffindors.

"STUPEFY, STUPEFY, STUPEFY," at last three courses of triple stunners managed to do what single course couldn't. The troll was knocked off his feet and smashed into the back wall which was already weak from the smashing by the troll. As a result the wall crumbled and the troll fell from the second floor before crashing into the ground and breaking his neck under his own weight.

Harry and the girls suddenly felt very drained, they had used a high level spell, at least for them, and that too repeatedly and now they were exhausted. They sank to their knees before being interrupted by a voice.

"Oh My!" It was Professor McGonagall who was looking at the scene with Horror, seeing three students completely exhausted and a student's mangled body can have very bad affects.

"oh My!" this time it was Professor Dumbledore who looked at the scene with sadness. He was accompanied by Professor Snape and Quirrel.

"Minerva, please escort the students back to their dormitories, they had seen enough," Dumbledore said to Professor McGonagall softly and firmly.

Professor McGonagall looked Dumbledore for one second before nodding and approaching the three students.

"Come on Miss Weasley, Miss Lovegood and Mr. Potter you have done your part, I'll escort you to your dormitory," said Professor McGonagall.

Too exhausted to even say anything they just nodded before standing up. The normally stern professor was looking at them with concern.

They started walking towards the exits accompanied by Professor McGonagall. They could feel the eyes of other Professors on their back till they disappeared from view. After some walk they reached the portrait hole.

"I trust you can go in yourself," Professor McGonagall asked. She had composed herself during the time. At their nod she said, "Alright then I have other things to attend to," she was about to turn before she stopped, "And ten points each for showing such courage and trying to save a classmate," with that she was gone.

Harry and the girls gave the password to the Fat Lady before walking in. They were met with a room full of stares before Percy purposefully strode towards them. He was about to berate them, when they just ignored him and went towards the staircase.

"Well Goodnight," Harry said tiredly.

"Goodnight," the girls didn't seem that well off either, "See you tomorrow,"

With that they climbed their respective set of stairs preparing for a stressful night. Not many could have seen what they did and done what they did and still manage to survive on their feet this long.

…..

A few days had passed since the troll incident. The next day it was announced to the whole school that Hermione Granger had met a tragic end. A moment of silence was asked for her by the Dumbledore. The body it seemed like was sent to her parents. It was followed by an article in Daily Prophet the Wizarding Newspaper on the death of the Hogwarts first year student. It had gone on to criticize Dumbledore for keeping such lax security in the castle and demanded his immediate removal from all position claiming that he was too old to run a school. It didn't end there, following the article Dumbledore received a lot of Howlers from the parents which were usually delivered in the Great Hall, providing a lot of entertainment for some students, mainly including Harry and the girls. It did bother them that someone had died so young, but it wasn't their fault and they were not going to lose any sleep over it. The attitude on that night was rather due to excessive use of magic and seeing a mangled corpse.

Right now they were enjoying their breakfast in the Great Hall. It had been almost a week since Hermione's death and the affairs had mostly returned to normal. They were interrupted by an owl who landed in front of them. They were surprised, they hadn't expected any mail. The owl stuck his leg out towards Harry as if asking him to take the letter off. This surprised them even more. Harry didn't receive any mail till now. With a look of trepidation Harry took the letter from the owl offering him his pumpkin juice in return. The owl drank the juice gratefully before flying off. Harry tore off the letter to find that it was from Hagrid who had invited him and his friend for a tea.

"Who is it?" Ginny asked while eating.

"It's from Hagrid. He wants us to visit him,"

"Well, it's not like we have anything better to do," Ginny replied.

With that it was settled. Since it was weekend and they had already finished all the work assigned to them by the teacher, they decided to take the day off and relax even from the training. They didn't get many free days with homework, Quidditch and training.

After Lunch they took off to Hagrid's hut which was located on the grounds. It was an enjoyable walk. With the playful bickering between Ginny and Harry and the odd comments inserted by Luna they soon found themselves in front of Hagrid's hut.

Harry knocked at the door and waited for a response, they could hear someone barking from the inside before the door was opened to reveal Hagrid's bushy face.

"Its ye guys, come in come in," Hagrid said beckoning them inside.

Harry and Girls went inside and found themselves in a quite spacious, at least for them, hut. There was a huge bed in one room in which only Hagrid could sleep. Unicorn hairs were hanging by the door.

"Why don't ye guys sit and I'll make some tea," Hagrid said before moving on to pour some water in the kettle.

"So, 'arry tell me who are these two lovely girl with ye," Hagrid asked after putting the water on stove.

"These are Ginny Weasley and Luna Lovegood," Harry said motioning to the two girls.

"Weasley? Ye' mus' be Bill an' charlie's youngest sister, I remember them, they were quite good, especially Charlie, shared my love fer animals, Good thing he went to Romania. An' ye' mus' be Xeno's daughter. He was a bit odd but a good guy at heart." Hagrid said looking at them. The girls smiled at hearing such praise for their family.

"Did you know my Parents too Hagrid?" Harry asked curiously wanting to know something about his parents.

"Ofcoure I did 'arry, Lily an' James Potter, two of the best wizard an' witches I knew…."

And with that Hagrid launched into a series of stories about Harry's parent and Ginny's brothers. Luna's Father also made an occasional appearance. All in all the afternoon was spent in an enjoyable manner with tea, discarding the struggle to eat the rock cakes and almost breaking their teeth in return, but some would say that that was mildly pleasant too.

…

It was the morning after they had met Hagrid. They were sitting on the breakfast table discussing the latest topic that was being covered in Potions. As Snape didn't seem capable of teaching them anything they had resolved to learning it themselves. Unlike other subjects they had not at first included in the training seeing no use for potion skill only to find how wrong they were when it became quite apparent how much a potion can do after a serious training session.

As they were eating three Owls carrying a large bundle came towards them. They looked towards the Owl trying to figure out what it was that they were carrying. They didn't have to wait for long though. The owl dropped the package on front of the three young Gryffindors. Ginny hesitantly reached out and took the letter attached to it and began reading it.

"What does it says?" Harry asked seeing Ginny getting excited.

"It's from Professor McGonagall. She sent you a broom. Well not for you, it's for the Gryffindor seeker,"

"Really? A broom," Harry said getting quite excited too.

"Well Harry! Open it. It's not infected by wrackspurts," Luna said dreamily.

Harry shook his head and began tearing off the paper. His breath hitched in his throat as he looked at the sleek handle and the finely cut broom twigs. It was truly a master piece.

"Wow! It's a nimbus 2000 Harry, I am almost jealous," Ginny breathed.

"Well no need to get jealous Ginny, I am sure Harry will offer us a ride too right Harry," Luna said to Ginny before turning to Harry and fixing him with a stare. It was a stare more likely found on Ginny's face but Harry decided that it was much scarier on Luna not to mention creepier too.

"Umm, Why not, You can even take the first ride too," Harry said nervously.

"Oh That's really sweet Harry, but you can take the first ride we can wait in turn," Luna said once again returning to her normal face.

Harry breathed a sigh of relief at least he still can ride his broom before others.

…..

"Well, that was fun, we should visit Hagrid more often," said Ginny, while Luna nodded her head.

"Yeah why not," said Harry, "Let's just hope he doesn't give us those rock cakes again," he was still rubbing his sore jaw from trying to eat those rock cakes.

"Come on let's hurry up we actually have to eat something real too, its almost dinner time," said Ginny while pushing them.

"Alright Alright let's go."

….

It was the first game of the Quidditch season Gryffindor Vs. Slytherin and as expected Harry and the girls were very nervous. It was also his very first game as a player. Ginny and Luna were just reserves and will replace the original chasers of the game went too long or one of them got injured. Even though Wood had pushed them through rigorous training, Harry still doubted that he would be able to catch the snitch when it mattered. They were not eating much but they were not the only ones. Other Gryffindor Quidditch team members were also up early and looking quite green. It heartened them to see that they were not alone.

After sittting there and pushing the food around for what seemed like eternity Wood pushed away from the table and ordered the team the follow him. The team too stood up leaving their food plates as it was.

Soon they were standing in locker room waiting for the game to start. They could hear the stadium slowly filling up.

"Alright Guys," Wood started only to receive five set of glares, "and of course girls," he hastily added, "We have prepared for this moment. We have trained and trained and trained so that we could show those fat Slytherin who are the real boss. We have got the best team that anyone can ask for, both regular and reserve. Let's get out and Show them What IS QUIDDITCH."

The last part was almost yelled by Wood followed by a chorus of "YES" from the team. Harry and the girls were no longer feeling nervous ready to take on whatever the other team had to throw at them.

The Gryffindor Quidditch team walked out on the Quidditch pitch among loud cheer. Fred and George friend Lee Jordan was commentating with Professor McGonagall acting as a Mediator. For Lee Jordan.

"And Here come The Gryffindor Quidditch team led by their captain Wood and follow by Weasley, Weasley, Johnson, Spinnet, Bell, Potter, Lovegood and another Weasley. It seems like we are getting a lot of Weasleys and by their number of children I am sure One day the entire team would be just Weasley, Although that Would cause Quite a bit of confusion but…."

"JORDAN, the match please," Professor McGonagall scolded.

"Yes, Alright Professor, and Yes Gryffindor team today has nine players with two chasers as reserve. I must add that right now Gryffindor team is the only one with reserve player. A remarkable insight from our captain Wood but as we all know he is only bright when it comes to Quidditch."

"JORDAN," Professor McGonagall said once again.

"Sorry Professor got carried away a bit there. Alright the match is about to start the bludgers and snitch has been released. Now just waiting for the Quaffle and there it goes. All the players are in the air, The quaffle has been snatched by the Gryffindor chaser first. It looks Like Johnson, passed to Bell, passed back to Johnson, passes it Spinnet, she is about to throw and what a wonderful feint towards Johnson who just came zooming from the other side and threw it through the loop. With that Gryffindor leads 10-0.

Harry quickly zoned out the commentary and the lewd comments made by Lee Jordan towards the chasers intent on finding the golden ball as soon as he can, and there it was hiding behind just wood's back.

He looked towards the other seeker but he still had to spot the golden ball, seeing the opportunity he slowly started flying towards the golden snitch trying not to get attention from the other seeker. But he had forgot one thing in trying to avoid the other seeker attention, that was that the golden ball was very fast and Harry was slowly zooming towards the ball it vanished from his sight. Harry cursed himself. He had let an easy opportunity go to waste. He returned to lazily circling the pitch. As he was passing the teacher's box he felt a sudden lurch in his broom. He halted trying to see what was wrong with the broom. When nothing happened he passed it off as a figment of his imagination but as soon as he started moving the broom gave another powerful lurch. This time it was too strong to be missed and Harry was almost thrown off the broom.

Gripping tightly to the broom he tried to lower it gradually but it was completely out of his control. It would sometimes go sideways and sometimes jerk upwards trying to throw off his rider like an angry bull. It was all Harry could do to hold to the broom never minding searching for the golden snitch.

"Uh OH, IT Seems like something is happening to Potter's broom, It is acting strangely," it seemed like the whole pitch had noticed his predicament and had gone silent. Slytherins though undeterred by what was happening continued to score the goals as the Gryffindor team gathered around Harry. Fred and George tried to approach his broom only to find it speeding upwards. Afraid that the broom will throw Harry off they continued circling beneath him hoping to catch him as he fell.

On the other hand, Harry was trying to gain control of the broom. It was almost like someone was remotely controlling it. As soon as Harry would try to get it under control it would jerk even strongely. It was only a matter of time before he was thrown off the broom.

He looked down trying to gauge his height and that was when he saw it. The Golden Snitch hovering below him just above Fred and George, but they had not noticed it.

"FRED! GEORGE! STAY WHERE YOU ARE!" Harry shouted to the twins. He had made an insane decision and he was going to act upon it.

He took a moment to gather his breath before acting upon it. He jumped from his broom at the height of almost a hundred feet. He was going to be thrown off anyway from the broom, and if he was going down he might as well win the match too.

It took him just a moment to reach the snitch. The golden ball seemed unaware of the object rapidly approaching it as it remained where it was. One moment his hand was closing around the snitch and the next Fred And George had caught him.

"Blimey Harry! You gave us some scare there!," said one of the twins.

Harry just grinned and looked towards the stands which had gone deathly silent. He raised his hand in which he was holding the golden snitch.

"AND IT SEEMS LIKE GRYFFINDOR HAD WON, 170-150 DUE TO A WONDERFUL FLYING CATCH BY THE SEEKER HARRY POTTER," Lee Jordan yelled in the microphone.

It was like a dead engine being revived as the crowd seemed to slowly came out of the deathly silence and began roaring. Gryffindor and beaten Slytherin spectacularly.

Fred and George lowered him to the ground where he was immediately hit by a white and red missile.

"Harry what the hell was that?" Ginny demanded as soon as she released him. Even Luna was deathly serious.

"YES Harry you could have died," Luna voice quavered a little bit.

Harry immediately felt ashamed of his decision. He hadn't thought how the girls would feel seeing him jump like that.

"I am sorry," Harry began feeling really sorry, "It's just that the broom was going to throw me off so I decided to jump right there so at least I would be caught by Fred and George."

"And the snitch?" this time it was Luna who demanded.

"It just came along the way." Harry mumbled.

"Well, make sure that you don't pull such a stunt again," Ginny said to him sternly.

"Ok, I promise," Harry said.

"Well, let's go the team is waiting."

And indeed the team was there too and as soon as the girls got away from him they surrounded him cheering him on. He received slaps on the back from twins and the wood while the Gryffindor chasers hugged him and kissed him on the cheek putting a goofy grin on his face.

"Well, You know what does it call for?" one of the twin asked.  
"I know, A PARTY. GRYFFINDOR DORM NOWS," the other twin yelled.

And with that they moved on towards the tower and towards a party that lasted well into the night and had to be broken by Professor McGonagall.

….

"I think it was one of the teachers. My broom started lurching when I passed in front of it," Harry theorized. They were sitting in Hagrid's Hut discussing the latest accident in Hogwarts which was Harry's broom acting out of Ordinary.  
"Well, I Know someone who would love to curse you," Ginny said, "Snape," she spat the name out like it was some disgusting thing.

"Why woul' ye think that?" Hagrid demanded.

"Because," Ginny turned towards Hagrid, "he really seems to have it for Harry, always insulting him for no reason."

"From what I hear' ye' lot don' make it easy fer him either," Hagrid said with a smile hidden by his beard while placing tea and rock cakes in front of them.

"Err, Hagrid no need for the cakes we just ate," Harry said eyeing the rock cakes.

"Oh it's alright 'arry atleas' take one," Hagrid answered.

"All the more reason for him to jinx Harry's broom," Ginny said intent on proving Snape's crime.

"now, now, Snape doesn't wish ye harm at all," Hagrid said.

"Certainly doesn't seem like it," Harry mumbled.

"What about all those points that ye lot lose, I imagine, it wouldn't make ye popular among others," Hagrid said trying to divert the topic.

"Not really, We earn loads of points in other classes, so all in all we earn more than we lose," Ginny said, "which makes another reason for Snape to hate us."

"Although Ravenclaw doesn't seem too pleased with us," Luna chimed in.

"Snape doesn't hate 'arry, and I woul' imagine they wouldn'. Ye lot are stealin' their title for bein' the smartes'," Hagrid concluded with a chuckle.

"Well it's their fault that they couldn't compete with three reckless Gryffindor," Harry said with a smile of his own before a newspaper caught his attention. It was an old one but there was some news that had piqued his interest.

"Hagrid, wasn't this the same vault that we emptied on that day?" Harry said to Hagrid while holding up the copy of Daily Prophet.

"Now that none of ye lot business," Hagrid said uncomfortably snatching away the copy but not before Ginny and Luna took a good look at it.

"That must be what you are hiding here," Ginny said.

"Now that is between Dumbledore an' Nicolas Flamel," Hagrid said even more uncomfortably.

"Nicolas Flamel?" this time it was Luna, "Why would Nicolas Flamel be interested unless it is Philosopher Stone," her voice had changed from the usual dreamy tone to a curious one.

"Philosopher stone? You mean that stone which turns everything it touches to gold?" Harry asked.

"Not only that, but a special drink called elixir of life is also made from it which grants its drinker eternal life," Luna's eyes were focused for once, "Now why would it be placed in Hogwarts?"

"Only if someone really really strong was after it and they couldn't protect it in Gringotts as we had seen in the news," Harry said.

"Not to mention it takes someone really strong and cunning to break into Gringotts," Ginny said thoughtfully.

"Could it be?" Harry said with wide eyes looking at the girls. They had completely forgotten that Hagrid was there.

"Voldemort? How could it be?" Ginny asked skeptically.

"Well whoever it is, he must be the one who let the Troll in Halloween," Harry said.

"So that he could use it as a distraction and take the stone," Luna finished the line.

"Hey! I remember Snape's leg was bloody that day. He must be trying to get into the third floor corridor," Harry said suddenly.

"Alrigh' that's enough teachers are doin' whatever they coul' to protect it no need ter worry," Hagrid said finally breaking out of his stupor, "Look how late it is ye lot need to eat yer dinner too," Hagrid said while shushing them out of the hut.

"Alright Hagrid see you next week," Harry said to the Giant. He really was a good guy.

"Alrigh' take care of yer self an' don' tell other what ye know."

"Don't worry Hagrid we won't tell anyone we promise?" Harry said before turning and walking with the girls.

…

"I think it's Snape who wants to take the stone." Ginny declared.

"Why are we discussing this?" Luna asked in her dreamy tone.

"Because I would rather not have that evil den of oil get his hand on something so great," Ginny answered.

"So you want it for yourself," Luna asked turning her wide blue eyes towards Ginny.

"What? No. I mean it would be nice but it belongs to someone else."

"Also we are discussing this just in case Voldemort is after it. I would imagine he would want eternal life," said Harry.

"On the off chance that he actually is alive," Ginny added.

"Well he must be otherwise the prophecy doesn't make sense," Luna said.

"Whatever, let's just get back to topic, I think it's Snape," Ginny said.

"Or maybe Quirrel, you know he has been acting quite strangely," Harry said with a frown.

"Hmm, you are right, Snape would be too convenient. Anyone would doubt him even after seeing him once," Ginny said with a frown of her own.

"Still that doesn't make him any less suspicious. I think he is infected by nargles," Luna said in her own dreamy voice.

"So it's either Voldemort or Snape or Quirrel, why would Quirrel want to steal the stone?" Harry asked.

"Who wouldn't?" Ginny asked rhetorically.

Harry nodded his head. The stone was just too big of a temptation for anyone. Not only unbound wealth but also immortal life, who wouldn't want that?"

"So there are three suspects huh? Voldemort is the most likely one but then again they could be working for him too," Harry thought aloud.

"We just need to keep an eye out for them don't we," Luna said focusing her eyes on her two best friends.

"By the way Luna how did you know about Nicolas Flamel?" Harry asked suddenly curious.

"Oh! I just ate a chocolate Frog today." Luna answered dreamily.

"What?" Harry asked now utterly confused.

Luna instead of answering just handed him a card. It was a chocolate Frog Card of Dumbledore; confused Harry just turned the card around and began reading it.

"Oh!" realization dawned on Harry's face as he looked at the card.

"What is it?" Ginny asked.

Harry just handed her the card to read too.

"So you knew about Nicolas Flamel because you happened to read about him on that day, that's lucky," Ginny said.

"Oh! You can say that, I believe it was destiny," Luna said once again staring into space.

"Well since that's settled let's start our homework we have a lot to do," Harry declared before grabbing his books and parchment to start the recent essay that they had been assigned. The girls too followed his example.

...

And just like that the days flew by before Harry and the girls, they would perform well in the class, do their training, which was going remarkably well, most of their weekends were spent with Hagrid laughing and sharing stories over tea while trying their best to avoid the rock cakes and sometimes helping him tend to the ground too.

As far as the suspicious professors were concerned they hadn't made any move out of the ordinary, not that they could much to keep an eye on them outside of the class, but it seemed like the stone was safe, at least for now.

It was a particularly chilly November afternoon when they made their way over to Hagrid's Hut. They knocked on the door only to hear Fang barking like usual.

"Oh, its ye guys, I knew ye lot would be coming around by now. Come in Come in I have got something excititng ter show ye," Hagrid said grinning broadly after he had opened the door.

The three friends shared a worried look. They knew enough about Hagrid that exciting for Hagrid only spelled Dangerous for others. They hurried inside to find what it could be that made Hagrid so excited dreading all along what they would find.

"Hagrid is that an egg?" Harry said while preening over the suspiciously large egg in the kettle.

"Not an ordinary egg, it's a dragon egg." Hagrid said, he was basically trembling with excitement.

"DRAGON EGG?" Harry and Ginny shouted while Luna's eyes only grew as wide as saucers.

"Keep yer voice down will ye? Don' want others to find out"

"But Hagrid don't you know how dangerous it is to breed a Dragon?" Ginny asked in a harsh whisper.

"Oh! It will be alright, it would be harmless, won't you?" the last part was said with rolling the egg in the large kettle.

"But it could destroy the whole castle," Harry protested.

But Hagrid just turned a deaf ear to all their pleading, no matter what they said he wouldn't budge.

"Oh it's alright Harry, Ginny if Hagrid wants the poor dragon to suffer we can't do anything," Luna who strangely silent till now said in a sorrowful voice.

"What do ye mean by that?" Hagrid demanded. He took it as personal insult that anyone would accuse him of making an animal suffer.

"I mean the dragon will only suffer here," Luna said her dreamy eyes focusing on the overly large man, "Dragons like to fly in open large lands, the presence of people here will only scare the poor dragon."

"You are right," Hagrid said while slumping into the seat, "Dragons are very independent. They don't like being confined to small places," it seemed like Hagrid was only murmuring to himself now.

"But what can I do about it now?" Hagrid said while looking at the egg worriedly.

"Oh I know we can ask Charlie, he would love to take another dragon to the reserve," Ginny said with excitement.

"That's a great idea Ginny, Charlie will take care of the dragon," Hagrid said beaming at her.

"Thank Merlin that has been solved, how did you even get a dragon egg?" Harry asked Hagrid.

"Oh I won it' in a game at Hog'ead, some stranger said he had a egg an' woul' give it te me if I won, Hagrid answered.

"A stranger? What did he ask you?"

"Nothing much, seeme' interestin' in three headed dogs, cereberus ye know, wanted to know how do ye get past one, told 'im through music, I know about it after all I raised fluffy," Hagrid doesn't seem to know how much he was telling the young teens albeit unintentionally.

"Fluffy?"

"Yeah, it's the dog at the third floor corridor, wait a minute ye lot that's enough now go, its gettin' colder," Hagrid suddenly seemed to know what he was talking about.

"Oh! Okay Hagrid, I'll send the letter to Charlie as soon as I can." Ginny said before walking out of the hut.

"This stranger must be the one who is after the stone that's why he wanted to know how to get past fluffy," Harry concluded.

"But that doesn't tell much now does it," Ginny said.

"Yes the wobblers are still flying," Luna added.

"But at least we know that he is still after the stone."

…..


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: As always do let me know if you have any questions. Here you go.**

Chapter 06:

The problem with the dragon was solved soon after the letter was sent. Charlie himself turned up at Hogwarts claiming to visit his siblings. The Weasleys were overjoyed to see their big brother that doesn't come often. They spent the whole day chatting with him and laughing. He even ate the lunch with them before excusing himself to visit Hagrid.

Harry and the girls also accompanied him as they too wanted to see the dragon egg for the last time. It's not something you see every day after all. Hagrid was crying his eyes out when Charlie took the egg. He wrapped the egg in a cloak not wanting anyone to get suspicious.

"Okay then Ginny, I'll be going it was fun visiting you," Charlie said saying his good bye, "and take care of yourself, you too Harry and Luna," he nodded towards Harry and Luna standing slightly behind Ginny. They just smiled at him.

With one last hug from Ginny he turned towards the gates and started walking taking the Dragon egg with him.

The rest of the day was spent trying to console Hagrid.

...

It was the Christmas Season and the Gryffindor tower was almost empty san the Weasley and the Harry and of course Luna. Weasleys were staying because their parents were off to Romania visiting Charlie as he had not stopped at the Burrow when he came to Hogwarts while Luna was staying because her daddy was off to hunt for Christmas hunkies. Supposedly they only appear when it was Christmas. The meals were also shared with the teachers because they were the only ones staying in on vacations. Apparently everyone likes spending Christmas with family. Although it did make the meals a little bit awkward.

Harry woke up on Christmas to sound of giggles, which greatly confused him since boys don't giggle. Then he remembered that he was alone in his dorm with Ron who only snores, which made him a little bit suspicious towards the source of giggles. He cracked his eyes open to see two bobs one distinctly red and other white.

"What are you two doing here?"

"We came to wake you up Harry," Said Ginny brightly.

"Oh! Then what are those presents for?" Harry asked.

"They are your Christmas present silly," Ginny said.

"Wow, I never got presents before," Harry whispered.

"I know Harry, Dad used to give me my present secretly since Mum wouldn't give me one," Ginny said sympathetically.

"It must be really hard for you two, though my Mum died and Dad was a little bit off after that he never forgot to give me presents, I always got him one too," Luna said with her wide blue eyes shining.

"its Christmas people, no time for morbid thoughts, get your presents Harry and meet us downstairs, we'll open the presents together," Ginny said brightly.

Harry nodded his head and watched the two girls leave. Both of them were damaged in their own way just like him. No wonder they were such good friends. Snapping out of his thought he immediately grabbed his toiletries and finished the necessities in record time before grabbing his presents and darting down the stairs.

The girls were sitting on the couch waiting impatiently for him. Harry sat beside them.

"Okay then who's first?" Harry asked.

"Why don't we just open them together," Luna suggested.

Liking the idea Harry looked towards his pile of presents. There was a present from both girls each, a present from Hagrid and one unknown present without a slip.

"Wonder, who this is from?" Harry asked picking up the present. The girls just shrugged their shoulders. He put it back into pile and decided to open Hagrid's first.

"What's this?" Harry asked looking at the misshapen piece of wood with holes in it.

"That's a flute Harry, it's really apparent," Luna chided Harry.

"Oh!" Harry said. Hagrid had given the same thing to Ginny and Luna too.

"Next present is from Ginny. Let's see what you got us," Harry said grinning mischievously at Ginny who looked a bit nervous.

Harry and Luna opened their presents to find a red bracelet inside woven intricately; on it was carved "Together Forever."

"You see I wanted to get us something for our friendship so I made them," Ginny explained nervously.

"So that's what you were doing all those late night in your bed," Luna said.

"It's absolutely brilliant Ginny, I love it," Harry said jubilantly.

"Yes Ginny. It is quite beautiful," Luna said.

Next turn was of Luna's present. Harry and Ginny opened their present to find watches inside them.

"Time is a precious entity," Luna said dreamily.

"Well thanks Luna it is a brilliant gift," Harry said. He was relieved to find that the watches were normal everyday ones.

"Time for Harry's present," Ginny declared loudly before tearing off the wrapping paper. She squealed loudly before hugging him tightly.

"I take it that you like my present," Harry asked cautiously before being engulfed by Luna too.

"Of course Harry, we love chocolate," Ginny said grinning broadly before eating a chunk of Honeyduke dark chocolate.

Arthur had sent Ginny a red scarf to keep her warm during winter. Ginny wasted no time in wearing it.

"Ok then time for the unknown present," Ginny said pushing Harry towards the present.

Harry lifted the present to find that it was strangely light.

"Okay then Harry open it," Ginny encouraged, even Luna was not her dreamy self.

Harry opened the present only for a silvery shimmering cloak to fell out and with it was a slip. Harry picked up the slip and began reading it aloud.

"Your father gave it to me before he died. It is high time that I return it to you," Harry's breath hitched in his throat. This cloak belonged to his father.

"Why would your Father give his cloak to someone else unless... Harry wear the cloak will you?" Ginny said suddenly.

Harry looked confusedly at Ginny but complied nonetheless. He turned towards the girl only to find their mouths open.

"Why are you staring at me like that?" Harry was starting to feel self conscious. Thinking that maybe the cloak had made his clothes vanish somehow. He looked down only to find that not only his clothes had vanished but also his body.

"It _is _an invisibility cloak," Ginny declared like she knew all along.

"Yes, it is but something is different with this one," Luna said in a strangely quiet voice.

"What do you mean Luna?" Harry asked concerned.

"I don't know but it doesn't feel like usual cloak, but I know that it is not something bad," Luna's grey eyes were focused on the cloak as if she was deciphering the cloak with her eyes.

"Well if it's not bad it can only be good right," Ginny reasoned.

"Maybe," Luna said with a sigh. The environment had gone tense.

"Well why are you looking so gloom?, imagine all the pranks we could pull with an invisibility cloak. We could trip Snape and he won't even know it," the statement had the desired effect as Harry perked up and they started the different pranks they could pull on the biggest gits of Hogwarts.

...

It was the night of the Christmas and Harry was preparing to go out on the test walk of Cloak with Ginny and Luna. At first he wanted to go alone but then he decided against it. Maybe it would be special to have the cloak first all to himself, but it would be more special if he could share it with his best friends. He descended the stairs to find Ginny and Luna waiting for him in the common room.

"Okay where to first?" Harry asked while opening the cloak.

"Maybe we can go near the Dungeons. See what Snape does at night. Maybe we'll find something good enough for him to be thrown out?" Ginny suggested. The three friends were comfortably inside the cloak.

"Okay then let's go," Harry said in an over excited voice, eager to explore the castle with his friends under the cloak.

They opened the portrait hole and climbed out leaving behind a flustered Fat Lady who couldn't see anything.

On their way they passed Filch and his cat that seemed to be looking for students out of bounds. As they passed them, Mrs. Norris stood up and started sniffing the air as if she had picked some scent.

"What is it my sweet? Is there someone out here near," Filch asked his cat sweetly.

Mrs. Norris started moving towards them, all the while sniffing the air.

The three friends looked at each other in horror. They had completely forgotten about Mrs. Norris ability to smell and confident in their invisibility had passed them recklessly. Seeing no other option they immediately began retracting. They opened the first door out of sight of Filch and his cat and immediately moved in.

"They are not here my sweet, must be in the adjacent corridor, come now my sweet," Filch voice came before hurried footsteps faded in the distance.

They breathed a sigh in relief at avoiding an obvious confrontation with Filch due to their carelessness. They took of the cloak and started looking around the room. What they saw amazed them.

Right in the middle of the room was an ornate and ancient mirror looking completely out of place in an abandoned classroom as if someone had carelessly placed it there.

"Wow," Ginny breathed.

Harry moved closer to the mirror. Something written on the mirror's top caught his attention.

"What's that written on the top?" Harry asked.

"I show you not your reflection but your heart's desire," Luna explained.

"Huh? Can you read it?" Harry asked confused.

"Yes, it's just Latin backwards. Can't you read it?" Luna blinked as if it was the most sensible thing in the world.

Harry shook his head and looked in the mirror. What he saw amazed him.

He, Ginny and Luna were still there but much older. He and Ginny and were holding hands while Luna was standing with them smiling. He blinked as the mirror Harry moved to put an arm around Luna too, who began giggling. But that was not all. Of to one side he saw a body lying there covered in bruises. On closer inspection he found that the body had a distinct white beard. It was the body of Albus Dumbledore.

"Wow, It really shows your heart's desire," Harry said amazed.

"Really Harry, What did you see?" Ginny asked obviously interested.

Harry shook his head, "No first why you and Luna don't have a look? " Harry suggested.

Ginny and then Luna moved to stand in front of Luna what they saw also amazed them. It was apparent on their face.

"Ok Harry you first," Ginny said.

"Well I saw us just older standing together and you know he was also there dead. What about you?" Harry asked.

"Well obviously we were there. I was free from my Mum," Ginny said as it was obvious.

"What about you Luna?" Harry asked her.

"Me? I saw all three of us together hunting for Crumple horned Snorkacks," Luna said with her with big grey eyes.

Harry and Ginny laughed. It was just so much like Luna.

"Ok then let's go. No point in staying with a mirror that's obviously useless. Why would anyone make it?" Harry said.

"Who knows? Wizards are known to be stupid?" Ginny said with a giggle before they wore the cloak and moved out to their decided destination.

Albus Dumbledore blinked as he saw the three friends walk out of the room. Harry was not what he expected. He was much more confident and brilliant. What he saw in the mirror was completely unexpected. It's not he was not expecting Harry to see his friends. It was just the friends' part that had perplexed him. Surely Harry wanted a family. Either it was that Harry didn't want a family, obviously put off the notion by his time at the Dursleys or he considered the girls his family. Yes, the girls. He certainly was not expecting Harry to become friends with those girls either. It seemed Like Harry had turned out very unpredictable. And Miss Weasley and Miss Lovegood had made him even more unpredictable. Dumbledore didn't like unpredictable things. The presence of Miss Weasley and Miss Lovegood was a threat to his eventual plan for Harry. If they remained with him, he would obviously grow much stronger than he wanted and would even threaten his power. While he eventually wanted to give his position to Harry, it was in a way that he would be completely dependent on him and would just think like him. Yes, if his plans were to be brought to fruition, Miss Weasley and Miss Lovegood needed to be taken out of the equation.

...

It was another peaceful breakfast for the three friends in the midst of the January when they were rudely interrupted by a frantic Wood.

"Potter, Weasley, Lovegood, Locker rooms now," Wood seemed like he was going to have a heart attack. Ginny bit down the retort that was threatening to come out of her after seeing Wood's situation. The three friends stood up silently and followed him to the Gryffindor locker room, where the whole team was assembled.

"Blimey Wood, why are you looking like that? Looking at you some would say that Snape was refereeing the next match," Fred or George joked.

But when Wood turned around with that grim look on his face, the twins fell out of their seats.

"You don't mean..."

"But we were just joking..." Fred and George looked at each other in horror.

"Well, let me make it official then. Due to the circumstances in the last match, it has been decided that a teacher would be overlooking the match and that teacher is none other than Professor Snape..."

...

Harry swallowed thickly as he rose up in the air. He never imagined that one day he would be playing under Snape's watch. The man was more likely to kill him than save him. Not to mention all the chances of Gryffindor ever winning were out of the window. The only thing he could do was end the match before Snape had enough time to put Gryffindor in a deep hole. He looked towards Snape as he awarded an obviously wrong penalty to Ravenclaw team and it was then that he spotted it. The grease in Snape's hair only made it easier to spot the shine of the snitch. Not even stopping to think about it, He began rushing towards the snitch. Well he did think of something. Snape only looked up at last second. His eyes only going wide as Harry's leg crashed straight into his face while Harry grabbed the snitch hovering over him. His broom went out of control as he crashed into the ground. Pity the height was only fifty feet. He would love to have more than a few broken bones for the hated professor.

...

"Well, I must say I never imagined that even bats needed a broom to fly," Ginny said. Right now they were sitting in the post victory celebration party enjoying it just like others. Harry had received a lot of congratulations from other people, not on catching the snitch. Sure catching the snitch under five minutes was an amazing feat but not bigger than kicking Snape in the face. In fact it paled in comparison to it. Snape as usual had gotten up livid and wanted to forfeit Gryffindor's victory on the grounds of kicking a referee. But Madam Hooch had overruled him, stating that he was in the way of snitch and Mr. Potter's kick was completely unintentional. Harry and the girls suspected that she resented Snape for doing such biased refereeing. Snape's face at that moment was worth looking at. Contorted in anger, confusion, surprise and what not, the greasy professor wouldn't have looked out of place in a circus act. Harry Potter had done the impossible once again. He had kicked the professor and gotten away with it.

"Still when Madame Hooch overruled him, I was worried for a second that he would swallow the baby flying stots," Luna said with a smile in her own strange way.

"Why don't we get out of here, it's almost time and I am getting uncomfortable," said Harry when another Gryffindor slapped him on the back for kicking the professor.

"Aww, really do we have to go, I am enjoying myself," Ginny mock whined.

"You know the attention makes me uncomfortable," Harry said with discomfort.

"Please Harry, Just a little bit more," Ginny batted her eyelashes at him.

"Hey, you are winding me up aren't you," Harry exclaimed, "Well that's enough now come on," Harry said while standing up. Ginny blew a raspberry at him.

"Spoilsport."

Harry just grinned and grabbed her by the elbow before leading her out of the portrait hole with Luna trailing behind humming a strange tune. Soon they were in front of their latest headquarters.

"So what are we practicing today?" Ginny asked.

"We do need a better training place, our spells are getting more dangerous," Luna noted.

"Oh you are right Luna," Harry said while remembering the last time when they narrowly escaped a teacher after their cutting hexes had gotten a bit out of control. Good thing they always had the invisibility cloak on hand.

"We'll discuss about that later. First up is Dumbledore," Harry continued.

"Hm, you are right Harry, he has been looking at us much more shrewdly now. It looks like something's up with him," Ginny commented.

"Whatever it is it can't be good for us," Harry said casting a worried glance at both Ginny and Luna. He couldn't stand losing either one of them. He knew their friendship had not been that long but still that's how he felt and he knew both girls felt the same way.

"Well, we'll take care of it when it comes," Luna said.

Harry and Ginny nodded before turning to start their practice. It was a long practice session with their minds pre-occupied with the thoughts of what Dumbledore was up to.

...

Harry, Ginny and Luna were just finishing packing their things when they were asked by the charms professor to remain behind. Harry and the girls looked at each other curiously before shrugging their shoulders and waiting for the other students to clear out.

After the other students had gone they approached the professor's desk where Professor Flitwick was busy in sorting his things.

"Professor you wanted to see us?" Harry began cautiously having no idea why would they be called.

"It has recently came to my attention that you three know about what is hidden here," Professor Flitwick began thoroughly shocking the three children.

"How did you know?" Ginny gaped at him.

"I was of course told by Hagrid," Professor Flitwick answered with a strange smile that unnerved the three.

"Now I want to know how much you know about it." Professor Flitwick asked.

"Err..." Harry said not sure whether he should really tell.

"Fear not Mr. Potter you won't be punished," the old professor soothed them.

"Err, we just know about the stone and that a dog is guarding it. But we suspect that other teachers are also protecting it." Harry answered still not quite comfortable the old professor was certainly acting in a strange manner.

"Now would you mind telling me why did you inquire about the stone from Hagrid in the first place?" Professor Flitwick asked.

"Well, You see Hagrid took the stone out of the Vault in front of me and When Professor Dumbledore forbade us from going to the third floor corridor, We were just curious about whether it is the same thing that he took out from the vault," Harry answered.

"And why did you think Professor Snape was after it?" The professor asked again.

"Err, because he is you know," Harry answered lamely.

"Ah, I see Mr. Potter," Professor Flitwick answered in his usual cheerful tone for the first time in the conversation. Harry and the girls sighed in relief maybe the old professor was just serious about the stone.

"Are you sure Mr. Potter you don't know about anything else?" Professor Flitwick asked suspiciously.

Harry and the girls frantically nodded their heads.

"And am I to assume that this knowledge won't make it into the hands of the other students?"

Harry and the girls once again nodded their heads.

"Very well, you may go now and present this slip to Professor Snape, Although I don't think it will matter much to him," Professor Flitwick said with a smile and handed them a slip of parchment.

Harry took the slip before hurrying out of the door along with the girls.

"Well that was odd," Ginny commented.

"I would have thought that Professor McGonagall would ask us those question as she is our head of house," Luna commented.

"Maybe she was busy and asked Professor Flitwick to do it himself," Harry said.

"Well I for one am glad that it was not Professor McGonagall she would have torn us apart," Ginny said shuddering.

"Uh oh we are getting late, hurry up." Harry said while looking at the watch that Luna gave them.

They quickly turned the corner and managed to make it to Potions class only minute late. But still it cost them fifteen points even after they presented Professor Flitwick's slip.

The Potion class went as usual with Snape docking points on every single thing he could find and Harry and the girls making his life miserable by asking question about the tiniest of things.

The unusual thing happened after the potion class when they were returning to their room. As it happened on their way they passed across the defence classroom. It was not their usual route but engrossed in their discussion they had not noticed. They were halted in front of the classroom by some strange voices coming out of the room. Luckily Harry had his invisibility cloak with him so they decided to wait and see what was happening.

"So what did you discover from the three brats?" it was the voice of Quirrel.

"They only know about the dog and nothing else," it was the voice of Professor Flitwick but it sounded a little strange.

"Well, I guess it was a long shot by any chance, go back to your quarters and make sure no one sees you," Quirrel's voice commanded.

The door of the classroom opened to reveal a glazed Professor Flitwick. He walked right passed the three children hidden beneath the invisibility cloak.

"So we were right. Quirrel is after the stone," Ginny hissed but Harry silenced her, more voices were coming now from the room now that Flitwick was out.

"Master what shall we do now?" Quirrel's voice sounded meek now. The three friends glanced at each other. It was a significant discovery. Quirrel was working for someone else.

"There is no other option left Quirrel," A deep hoarse voice came through the door, "We must take the stone now or else Dumbledore will become suspicious."

"Yes, master. I'll arrange for a suitable distraction," Quirrel replied.

"No need. Dumbledore is away on business. It's the perfect time. We shall take the stone tonight," the voice said again.

The three friends looked at each other in horror. Quirrel was going after the stone tonight. They needed to tell someone. They weren't stupid. While they had become stronger they were not strong enough to deal with a professor.

"We need to tell Professor McGonagall," Ginny said in a harsh whisper.

The other two friends nodded. It was the only logical conclusion. She was the only one who might listen to them. They had won the strict teacher's favour through their hard work and knew that she would be able to do something.

They silently made it out of the corridor before taking off the cloak and sprinting towards Professor McGonagall's Office.

Soon they were standing in front of the door. They sharply knocked the door and waited for it to open. They didn't have to wait for long as the door opened to reveal the surprised face of Professor McGonagall.

"Mr. Potter, Miss Weasley and Lovegood come in," She beckoned them inside her office.

McGonagall's office was just as they had expected, Neat and pristine with everything on their fixed position.

"What brings you three to my office?" Professor McGonagall asked her usual stern tone absent in front of her latest favourite students only.

"It's Professor Quirrel Professor. He is going after the stone," Harry said in a rush.

Professor McGonagall gave a startled yelp and fell out of her chair quite ungracefully, all three students gaping at her.

"Harry, what were you doing? Is that any way of telling someone? You are lucky that you are not infected by rush horniks," Luna chided him gently.

"Sorry," Harry said blushing, "I was just concerned about the stone."

"Relax Harry. We have until the night," Ginny said rolling her eyes.

"First you three tell me how you knew about the stone. I didn't think of the three of you as trouble maker type," McGonagall said. She had gotten back to her seat and was sitting with all dignity that she had left.

"Professor it would be better if we tell you from the beginning," Harry said cautiously.

Professor McGonagall nodded her head.

So Harry began recounting how they had stumbled upon the secret artefact. How Hagrid let it slip what it was. Their suspicion about someone was after him and their recent discovery of professor Quirrel working for another.

"Not only that, professor Flitwick was also acting weirdly. He had a glazed look on him when he came out and his eyes were unusually wide," Luna added.

Professor McGonagall just sat there in shock. So much had been going on and she didn't even know about it.

"Are you sure about all of this?" Professor McGonagall asked slowly.

Harry and the girls nodded their head, "Not only that Professor but he is going after the stone tonight," Harry said.

Professor McGonagall abruptly stood up, "Well we cannot waste any time here let's go," she declared and strode up to the door.

Harry and the girls shared a glanced. McGonagall looked really determined. They got up and hurriedly went out of the door to follow Professor McGonagall.

Soon they were standing in front of the door. McGonagall gestured them to remain silent before she moved to open the door but she was interrupted by the voice that Harry and the girls thought belong to the master.

"Quirrel it seems like we have visitors."

The Students and the teacher looked at each other and opened the door only to find that Quirrel was the only one standing there.

"Where is the one you are working for?" Professor McGonagall demanded. Quirrel only smiled. A creepy smile.

"Filius," Quirrel said.

To the shock of one teacher and horror of three students Professor Flitwick emerged from the side with his wand in hand.

"Kill them," Quirrel spoke in a harsh whisper and before any of the three friends could realize a blue spell was impacting a shield probably conjured by Professor McGonagall.

And so it began a duel between two strongest professors of Hogwarts. Harry and the girls couldn't even recognize any of the spell that were being cast but it was clear that Professor McGonagall was on the defensive.

"Filius! Snap out of it you are endangering the life of students here," Professor McGonagall said while blocking a very nasty looking purplish spell.

But Professor Flitwick just looked on with a glazed look on his face. Something settled in Professor McGonagall eyes as if she had come upon a decision.

"You leave me no choice Filius," Professor McGonagall said before she transformed in a cat and with reflexes that could only belong to a cat came out behind Professor Flitwick shooting a spell at him in the blink of an eye.

Professor Flitwick though remaining true to his reputation as a duelling champion had not only turned around but blocked the spell before sending his own spell.

But Professor McGonagall use of her animagus had given a clear superiority over Flitwick in speed which was readily beginning to be apparent. His reflexes were becoming slower and slower as he took more and more curses.

But Professor Flitwick was not the only one suffering. Continuous transformation was having a powerful toll on Professor McGonagall core as her breathing became shallow and her spell became weak.

All this time Harry and the girls were looking at them in awe as they clearly saw the power that the two professors held. But they also knew that they needed to help Professor McGonagall or she might even lose.

But they were proven wrong.

Professor McGonagall transformed back to her human form. It was clear that the prolonged battle was having an effect on her. But she raised her wand once again.

"I really didn't want to go all out on you Filius. You are a dear friend of mine but I must protect Hogwarts," Professor McGonagall said before she closed her eyes.

It was as if they could actually see the magic itself gather around the old Professor as the air began to get dense with magic. It was a completely new face of their Transfiguration Professor that they were seeing. As if she was not intimidating enough before.

Professor McGonagall opened her eyes. They were alight with magic. All her previous exhaustion was gone. It was as if she had completely replaced by someone else.

And the duel began again but this round didn't last long as within two minutes Professor Flitwick was lying on the ground bruises and wounds covering his whole body.

Harry and the girls could only gape at their Transfiguration Professor. She had beaten the Duelling Champion like he was nothing.

"Well Minerva it seems like you are still as formidable as you were back then," said the hoarse voice of Quirrel's voice.

Professor McGonagall whirled around to face Quirrel. Her eyes were still the same alight as if magic itself was brimming in them.

"Who are you? Come out at once," Professor McGonagall demanded.

"Let me face her," said the voice.

"But Master..." Quirrel began shaking.

"Enough. Now do as I command," Quirrel nodded frantically before taking off his turban. Harry and the girls could only look on confused at what was happening. Quirrel turned around to show them the back of their head. But it was certainly not something that they were expecting. Professor McGonagall gave a startled gasp as she looked at the disfigured on the back of Quirrel's head.

"You...You Know Who?" she stammered.

Harry and the girls gave a gasp as they realized who it was that Quirrel was talking.

"Voldemort?" Harry said anger settling in him as he looked at the face of the man who had murdered his parent. But before he could do anything he was grabbed by two hands on each shoulder. He turned to see that it was Ginny and Luna holding him back.

"Why Mr. Potter yes. The one and Only Lord Voldemort, Who else do you think it could be that could fool even the enchantments around Hogwarts," He gave a maniacal laugh," Although Minerva I was not expecting you to be here. I was expecting these three idiots to try to stop me as I long since suspected that they were suspicious of me," Voldemort turned towards the three children who looked flushed, "Did you really think you could fool Lord Voldemort the greatest Wizard of his age. I have lost my body not my mind," Voldemort sneered at them before turning back towards Professor McGonagall, " Your Presence certainly changes many things Minerva," Professor McGonagall looked aghast as the casual use of her first name by Voldemort, "While I am confident that even in my weakened state I could defeat you but I would rather not. It would be a long and tedious fight and I don't want to be caught vulnerable in my already vulnerable state. So then I guess this would be good bye at least for now," and before anyone could say or react a wisp rose from the head of Quirrel and fled through the wall laughing maniacally.

Quirrel could look in horror as he watched his beloved master abandon him like he was a mere puppet. But it was not long before darkness enveloped him and he fell down asleep forever to come.

Harry Ginny and Luna also looked on, too shocked at the eye proof of Voldemort life. While they knew that Voldemort was alive it just made it all the more real. Not to mention the eye opening display of magic that just told them how inadequately prepared they were to face Voldemort and his minion. Harry was grateful to the two girls for restraining him otherwise he might have done something reckless.

Professor McGonagall rushed towards Professor Flitwick who was just now groaning and sitting up, "Minerva what happened?" he asked.

"Later Filius, we need to get you to Poppy. You three take him to Madame Pomfrey. I need to contact Professor Dumbledore," Professor McGonagall said. She conjured a stretcher before hurrying off.

Harry and the girls looked at each other before shrugging and getting up to help Professor Flitwick on the stretcher.

"Well can you three tell me what happened?" said Professor Flitwick in a hoarse, "I don't seem to recall the last two months quite clearly.

"Well Professor it seems like you were under the control of Voldemort," Harry said while levitating the old professor out the door.

"What? How?" the Professor squeaked.

"Voldemort needed someone to get information on the stone, so he put you under some kind of spell," this time it was Ginny who answered.

"He must have used Imperius curse on me, and I suspect I fought with Minerva," Professor Flitwick a dry chuckle.

Harry nodded, "How did you know and what's Imperius?"

"Imperius curse is one the unforgivable curses. It carries a life sentence to Azkaban. It basically allows the caster to control the mind of the victim," It was Luna who answered.

"As Miss Lovegood so brilliantly explained, Imperius curse is basically a very powerful mind controlling spell. As for how I knew not to brag and all that there are not many who could defeat me. And as She was the only in the room I guessed who it could. Now how did Voldemort managed to sneak past all the teachers?"

"He was possessing Professor Quirrel sir," Harry said as they approached the door of the infirmary. Ginny and Luna opened the door of infirmary so that Harry could levitate him in.

"What is this?" said the Hogwarts matron who was somehow standing behind them.

"You must be Madame Pomfrey. Professor Flitwick was injured and he needs your help," Harry said quickly.

Madame Pomfrey only nodded before levitating Professor Flitwick on to the bed. Seeing the opportunity, Harry and the girls immediately snuck out of the infirmary.

Soon they were standing back in their new Head Quarters away from the prying eyes.

"Wow, I never knew that Professor McGonagall was so strong," Ginny commented looking a bit dazed.

"Ooh it was nothing surprising. Cats are always like that," Luna answered.

"Still though, she definitely was afraid when Voldemort revealed himself," Harry said frowning.

"Yes she definitely was," Ginny confirmed, "Do you know what that means?"

"Only that Voldemort is way more stronger than her," Harry said.

"And we need to up our training, remember Dumbledore is thought to be Voldemort equal," Luna said in a voice that they had come to associate with serious events.

Harry and the girls just looked at each other. While the three had made more than significant progress in their training, it was heart breaking to learn that there was still such a huge difference between them. Yes they were stronger then third year might be even on par with fourth year but they still had a way to go.

"Well there's a difference so what?" Harry said. The girls looked up at him, "I mean there was a much more significant gap between us at the start of the year, but now we can actually do something right? It doesn't matter how much of a big difference there is we will overcome it. We are in it together right," Harry looked at the two most important figures in his life.

"Yes, we are in it together," Both girls chorused.

And thus began another training session for them. They conjured a lot of dummies for practice. They had learned to cast the dummy conjuring spell when they couldn't afford to cast the spell at each other anymore. Needless to say there was a huge pile of dummies that vanished and three absolutely exhausted children made their way back to Gryffindor tower. Exhausted yes but also a lot more stronger.

...


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: Skyrim is an evil den of such evil that evilness of all evil fear that they might turn evil by the evilness of this evil. Seriously I should be preparing for my exams (and of course writing this story) but here I am playing it. Damn you Bethesda!**

**Err wait, what am I doing? Of course ranting which I always do in hopes of keeping people away from the chapter (I am such a big evil, sniff! I am Proud to call myself me. Sniff!)**

**And yes your people eyes are still functioning right and neither did I mistakenly made the story complete. it is complete (For now.)**

**For the series it will continue after a break which you might have noticed why would be coming in the second line of this huuuuuge rant.**

**I really want to keep you away from the chapter but I guess even evilness had its limit (Am I not a big softie? Sniff!)**

**Without further ado I present to you the last chapter of the first year and mine (For sometime to come.)**

**And what comes after the first year?**

**Second year.**

**Of course not. **

**After it there will be three chapter focusing on the life before hogwarts of our three heroes (Yes after the break.)**

**As always I will still answer questions in regards to the story if you have any.**

**Reviews are always appreciated.**

**Oh and THIS WILL NEVER BE A SOUL BOND STORY OK!**

Chapter 07:

It was the day after the Quirrel fiasco. The absence of Professor Quirrel and Professor Flitwick was explained by Professor Dumbledore stating that they had been caught in a horrible accident which had claimed the life of Professor Quirrel and left Professor Flitwick quite a bit injured. The student body had believed that and had not questioned any further.

Harry, Ginny and Luna were having breakfast when they were interrupted by Professor McGonagall.

"Have you three finished breakfast?" Professor McGonagall inquired.

"Almost Professor, Do you need something from us?" Ginny put on her best charming smile.

Professor McGonagall's lip quirked a bit, but it was so fast that they thought that they imagined it.

"No need for an act Miss Weasley, Professor Dumbledore has required your presence in his office."

The three tensed at hearing the name of Dumbledore. They were expecting something like that since yesterday though they dreaded the meeting with him.

Nonetheless they got up to follow Professor McGonagall.

"Professor we didn't know that you were so powerful," Harry said to Professor McGonagall. Right now they were passing through a deserted hallway.

"Everyone has their secrets Mr. Potter," Professor McGonagall replied in her stern tone, "We are here."

They were standing in front of two gargoyles.

"Sugar Quills," said Professor McGonagall and the Gargoyles sprang apart to reveal a spiralling stairway.

"I trust that you three can find your way back to your dormitory?" at their nod the stern Professor continued, "Then I must be going," and with that Professor McGonagall turned and started walking back.

They watched the professor walking till she vanished from the view.

"No sense in delaying the inevitable," Luna said before she climbed onto the stairway. Harry and Ginny followed suit.

The stairway started moving upwards and soon they found themselves standing in front of an oak door. Before they could knock a voice came from inside, "Come in."

The three friends glanced at each other before shrugging and entering the room. It was a spherical room with portraits adorning the walls of the office and rows of shelves stacked full of books. On one side of the room laid different kind of instruments that were buzzing and emitting smokes.

"Please take a seat," Dumbledore said gesturing to the three seats present in front of him. His eyes were twinkling madly as he looked at them. Immediately Harry and the girls averted their gaze. They knew enough by now that a master legillimens could detect their surface thought through just an eye contact. They had remarkable shields but this was not the time to go experimenting.

"Would any of you care for a lemon drop?" Professor Dumbledore said while extending a bowl full of sweets towards them. At their refusal he pulled it back.

"Well now that you are here let's get to business. I am sure you three still have a lot of do," Dumbledore said, "You see I was informed of certain events and your parts in them."

"Yes Professor?" Harry asked still subtly trying to avoid the Professor gaze.

"What I would like to know Harry is what were you trying to do outside of the defence class room and how did you come to suspect Professor Quirrel and his connection with Lord Voldemort?"

"Well Professor," Harry said glad that he could look into the headmaster's eye. Avoid his eyes for too long and he could be suspicious, "It was due to his behaviour in classes."

"His behaviour Harry? Can you please elaborate?"

And Harry began telling them all about how they came to know about the stone and how they suspected Snape.

"Well Harry and Miss Weasley and Lovegood, you did a remarkable thing by figuring out Voldemort's plan, I must say it had saved the stone from falling into the hands of evil. Now that is done can you two girls please leave. Mr. Potter and I have some things to discuss," Professor Dumbledore said in a grandfatherly tone.

Harry didn't want to be left alone with the old coot, but there was no other choice. He nodded at the girls, who hesitantly got up before leaving.

After the girls had left the office he turned towards Professor Dumbledore, clearly on his guard and ready to flee if Dumbledore tried anything. Though it's not like it would do any good.

"What did you want to discuss with me sir?" Harry asked.

"Harry it had come to my attention that you weren't with your relatives after you received your letter. Why is that?" he asked.

"Not to be rude sir, but why does it matter to you where I spend my summer?" Harry asked.

"You must understand Harry; I am only looking out for you. There are still people out there that want to hurt you. The only place safe for you is with your Aunt."

"Why is that?"

"When your mother sacrificed herself for you to save you from Voldemort, she gave you protection from him. I used this protection to erect blood wards around your Aunt's house Harry. They are the only way that you could be safe from the people looking to harm you and your family. If you leave I am afraid the protection will fail," Dumbledore explained in detail.

Harry just meekly nodded.

"That's all Harry; I would expect you to return to Dursleys. You may go now," Dumbledore said giving him a penetrating gaze as if to see through his soul.

Harry just got up from his seat and walked out of the door. Just ahead of the Gargoyles as expected were his two best friends Luna and Ginny. He immediately moved towards them.

"Harry!" Ginny exclaimed, "What did Bumbles want?"

"He told me that he expected me to return to Dursleys," Harry snorted, "like his expectations mean anything to me. I tell you what let's go to the room and discuss it there."

The girls just nodded before they made their way to their recent training centre.

...

Dumbledore sighed as he looked at the retreating form of Harry Potter. He had not turned out as he expected. He had grand plans for the boy but they looked rocky even in the start. Dumbledore stood up and gazed out of the window. He supposed that his plans were faulty at best too. He had presumed that Harry would be a meek little boy disciplined into submission by the Dursleys. Then Hagrid would introduce him into the wizarding world, affecting the boy unknowingly by making him look at the world in plain black and white as Dumbledore wanted him to see. Initially the plan had paid off. Harry had been totally disgusted with the Malfoy boy, going as far as rejecting his friendship. Dumbledore had been quite happy when he heard about the commotion happening at the train. But that was the only thing that happened according to his plan.

He had expected Harry to make friends with the youngest Weasley boy and then eventually Miss Granger through his master manipulation. But he had not even paid them any attention as if they were non-entity instead making friends with the Weasley and Lovegood girl. He at first had thought nothing of it dismissing the fact that some friendship could ruin his plan. Oh how wrong he was.

It bothered him to say but Lovegood and Weasley girl had a strong impact on Harry's view point. After their friendship he had become more confident and bolder. This more than anything alarmed him. A bold and Confident Harry was simply wrong. He couldn't manipulate such Harry.

But if that was not enough the boy had shown a remarkable intelligence that was only rivalled by Miss Weasley and Lovegood. Even Miss Granger while alive could barely come close to them. This troubled Dumbledore even more; a smart Harry meant increased risk of his plans being exposed.

But his worries still not ended there. If a smart and bold Harry was not enough. The boy was exponentially strong too, once again rivalled only in power by the two girls that accompanied him anywhere. When the three were together which most of the time was, sheer power radiated from them. This once again was a threat to Dumbledore's plan. If he became too powerful he could become a threat to Dumbledore's reign and Dumbledore didn't appreciate having to put down his eventual heir.

Dumbledore sat back in the chair and massaged his temples. He had to find a way to block Harry's power and draw him away from Miss Weasley and Miss Lovegood. Miss Weasley especially as she seemed to have a much stronger bond with Harry. Dumbledore didn't think that Harry and Miss Lovegood relationship was deep not understanding that such an aloof girl could be friend with someone. He supposed the friendship was more because of rest of school reaction to Miss Lovegood eccentricity and Harry's kindness. At least that part he had presumed right.

He began thinking of solution to his problem. Thankfully there were potions that could take care of Harry's power and his smartness and Severus would be more than glad to make them. If he remembered correctly Harry and Severus shared a vengeful relationship. Another thing that was going along the plan.

On the other hand solution to Miss Weasley was rather hard to come by. He thought about giving Harry a love potion but dismissed it right away. Love Potion wouldn't ensure that their friendship was broken. He needed her out of the picture. Thankfully the solution came soon too as he remembered that Lucius Malfoy had an interesting diary that belonged to Lord Voldemort. He long had his suspicion about that diary but now he could finally get his hand on it. He supposed that there would be a heavy price to pay for it but to ensure the peace he needed to do it. What a few lives were in front of live of millions? Now he just needed to give Lucius an incentive. Yes, he needed to visit Arthur Weasley.

...

Harry and the girls were once again sitting in the Head Quarters. The girls listening intently to Harry as he described the meeting after the girls left in full detail.

"So that means that Dumbledore knew full well of your treatment by the Dursleys," Luna said thoughtfully, "or rather he sent you there because he knew they would treat you like that."

Harry and Ginny were startled by this revelation. But as they both went over that part of the conversation in their head, they were convinced that it was likely, otherwise Dumbledore had no other reason for insisting Harry to return there. While Dumbledore's reason of sending Harry there to be safe seemed logical, they both knew that there could have been other ways to make him as safe.

"The Question is what should we do now?" Luna said once again.

"What do you mean what should we do?" Harry asked slightly confused.

"Look Harry," it was Ginny who answered, "Dumbledore would assume that you would once again run away from the Dursleys given the chance so I wouldn't put it past him to send someone there to watch you."

"You are right Ginny but it's not like we can do anything even then. We don't want Dumbledore to be even more suspicious than he is right now," Harry said.

"So you are going to spend the whole summer with those idiots?" Ginny exclaimed.

"You are the one to talk, I think we should be talking about getting YOU out of your abusive household more than me," Harry argued.

"Enough arguing," Luna said firmly, "You both need to get out of there but there is nothing we can do now so we have to put up with it, at least for now."

Harry and Ginny both nodded their head Luna was right once again as she often was.

"I think we should take care of the blood wards that way Dumbledore wouldn't have a reason to send me back there. I know that my relatives are protected by them too but I could care less about them," Harry said.

"But we don't know anything about Blood Wards," Ginny interjected.

"That just means we have to research them," Luna said serenely.

"Library it is then," Harry said. The girls nodded before all three got up and headed towards the library.

...

A month had passed since the passing of Professor Quirrel. Professor Flitwick had re-joined classes after a week and was now busy with reviewing the lessons he had taught that year.

Harry and the girls though didn't need the review as much so they had taken advantage of the free time that teachers had given them by learning more advanced spells. That's not to say they didn't review at all. All three were planning on getting the top most position.

The competition was truly though between equals as none of them were proficient at all subjects. Harry, Ginny and Luna each were better than others in some subject but between them they covered all the subjects. The teachers had high hopes for them for the upcoming exams.

Although Harry and the girls were focused on something else, this was getting as strong as they could not only physically but mentally as well. They had come a long way in Occlumency and were just preparing to learn Legillimency as well. Reading you enemy's mind could be useful. Not to mention they couldn't exactly test their mental shields without letting someone in their mind and they trusted no one but each other to do that.

As far as Physical part was concerned Harry and the girls had developed a much better stamina. At the start they could hardly run a mile without getting really exhausted. Now they could jog for at least three miles without breaking a sweat. Harry was starting to build a muscle frame and as for the girls let's just say that if Harry and the girls were a little older then Harry would certainly be thanking the person on his hand and knees who would have given the idea of work out that's not to say that Harry was not beginning to enjoy the work out session with the girls as boys often do if given the chance.

But what frustrated Harry and the girls most was the restriction on their spell work. They couldn't use more lethal spell without causing damage to the classroom and thus arousing teacher's suspicion. They countered for it by learning spells that could cause a lot of discomfort for their opponent. Not lethal but still quite handy in dealing with a powerful opponent.

All this aside, today was the final of the Quidditch cup and Oliver had finally decided to give Ginny and Luna a chance to play. Needless to say the girls were pretty excited. Oliver was excited too but that was because they finally had a chance to snatch the cup from the Slytherins. The girls would play only for the first half an hour before being substituted by Angelina and Katie the two chaser in whose place the girls would be playing.

The final match was against Hufflepuff, who had a good seeker Cedric Diggory, a fourth year, but according to Oliver not as good as Harry, besides Hufflepuff needed to win from a really large margin to have a chance at winning the cup.

A huge roar erupted as the Gryffindor team walked out on the pitch. Lee Jordan was the commentator again.

"Welcome Ladies and Gentlemen to the Final match of this Year Quidditch Cup. Both teams are entering the ground. It seems like the Gryffindor Quidditch team captain and the most fanatical Quidditch lover at Hogwarts, Oliver Wood," Wood actually smiled that, "has decided to give rest to two of the three star chasers who are absolutely gorgeous..."

"JORDAN,"

"Sorry Professor, well as I was saying Angelina and Katie are being substituted by Ginny Weasley and Luna Lovegood, who I must say are blossoming beauty as well,"

"JORDAN,"

"Sorry again Professor," Lee Jordan said once again while Harry snickered at the tomato red face of Ginny. It seemed like Luna hadn't noticed her name.

"So let's get back with the match, Madame Hooch is thankfully back but then again I wouldn't think our esteemed Professor would want to..."

"ENOUGH LEE JORDAN," the shrieking voice of Professor McGonagall could be heard to the castle.

"Ahem Sorry Professor," said Lee Jordan obviously not sounding sorry at all.

"So as I was saying Madame Hooch has released the snitch, both the teams are already in the air waiting for the Quaffle to be released AND THERE YOU GO, match has been started, it seems like Norrington, the lead Hufflepuff chaser would get to it, OH MY WHAT A BRILLIANT DIVE BY WEASLEY NO ONE SAW HER COMING, now the Quaffle is in Gryffindor possession, passes it to Alicia, what a feint now it is with Weasley, passes it to Lovegood, wait what is she doing, it seems like she is going round in circles at the same place, the Hufflepuff chasers looks confused too, she throws the Quaffle towards the loop, OH it's on the side, WAIT, it was a pass to Weasley who somehow snuck up there, AND THERE YOU GO GRYFFINDOR 10-0 HUFFLEPUFF."

Harry smiled as he saw Ginny scored her first goal in a match also this match's first goal. He tuned out the commentary and began searching for the snitch.

While Harry was searching for the snitch, below Ginny and Luna with the help of Alicia were wreaking havoc in the Hufflepuff defences. The beaters tried to help their chaser but Fred and George were there protecting the chasers as they scored over and over again.

An hour had already passed and Oliver was showing no sign of substituting the two girls. Gryffindors were well in lead by 100-0 and the girls were showing no sign of stopping. Now only the snitch could have saved them but Luck was not on their side today as the snitch showed no signs of appearing.

"And Lovegood scores again, the score is 110-0. I must say I was not expecting such a brilliant performance by the two new girls. We are looking at future professional players here Professor. The game has completely turned one sided with the introduction of the two new players. AND WEASLEY SCORES AGAIN while I was busy singing her praises, honestly if she was a little bit older I would..."

"DON'T COMPLETE THAT SENTENCE JORDAN,"

"Alright Professor, so let's get back to game..."

Ginny and Luna truly were outclassing the other chasers. Ginny was currently in lead with six goals with Luna close behind with four goals. Alicia herself had scored two goals. Hufflepuff chasers had become frustrated and were starting to play dirty, thankfully Madame Hooch was not going to allow foul play and it cost them another goal.

While all of this was happening Harry was searching the ground and the sky for the snitch. The game had entered into its third hour and the girls were beginning to look exhausted, Gryffindor was still leading with 140-0 but Harry knew he had to end it soon.

It was not long then that Harry caught sight of the snitch behind the less used part of the stadium, the Gryffindor goal post, thankfully Cedric Diggory was on the other part of the pitch and all he could do was watch as Harry grabbed the golden snitch.

"AND GRYFFINDOR WON THE MATCH AND WITH IT AFTER THE A LONG TIME THE QUIDDITCH CUP TAKE THIS YOU STUPID SNAKES WE WON BY A HUGE MARGIN 300-0 WEASLEY SNEAKING IN A GOAL AT THE LAST MINUTE!"

Even Professor McGonagall was so stunned that she didn't bother correcting the language of Lee Jordan.

On the pitch Harry was soon surrounded by his team mates even Angelina and Katie had rose up to meet with the team. Harry was being crushed in a mutual hug between the three friends as Ginny just chanted yes over and over again. Even Luna looked flushed with excitement.

"GRYFFINDOR TOWER PARTY," one of the twins yelled as they hoisted him up on his shoulders and started walking towards the tower which no doubt was overflowing with butterbeer and all kind of snacks.

The party once again lasted well into night, needed to broken up at 4 a.m. in the morning by an extremely annoyed Professor McGonagall in her night dress. The common room had become empty in record time after seeing her like that.

...

The party might have lasted only a night but the euphoria last the whole week. Watching a Gryffindor taunting a Slytherin was not an uncommon sight and mostly teachers had to intervene to break the fight.

After the euphoria had worn off, Harry and the girls had thrown themselves in their training and Blood wards research with a new fervour. While the training was going absolutely brilliant the search for the blood wards had yielded no results. Harry and girls had searched almost every single book that they could find on wards but not one of them discussed blood wards. The closest they had come was in a book in restriction section when they had used Harry's cloak to sneak in. It had mentioned the blood wards only in passing.

So it was decided to order books on obscure wards from Florish &amp; Blotts. Hedwig had been quite happy at finally having something to do after a long time.

The books had arrived a week later much to Harry and the girls' chagrin in the morning post. Dumbledore had eyed the package suspiciously. But now that the damage was done they could do nothing but cover it up if need be. Thankfully the rapidly approaching exams gave them a perfect excuse to order some books.

That day had passed agonizingly slow for Harry and the girls wanting the classes to be over so that they could get on with their research. After what seemed like centuries they were standing up from their dinner table having to eat at the normal pace so as not to make Dumbledore more suspicious. It was not long after that they were in the head quarters with the books.

Not wanting to wait anymore, Harry hurriedly open the large package, there were four books in total all detailing different obscure and in some cases borderline dark wards. Harry gave a book each to Ginny and Luna before picking up his own books and started reading it.

It was well into the night, almost near curfew time when breakthrough was achieved and it was Luna who achieved it.

"It looks like I have found something."

"Really," Harry and Ginny both said in unison before marking their places and hurriedly going towards Luna. They stood on her side and began reading the chapter titled Blood wards.

_Blood Wards are one of the most ancient wards known to wizard kind. According to experts Blood wards requires a blood relation to work. They offer a wide variety of function depending on the will of the casters. It has also been reported that in some cases Blood wards were use as a prison to hold off some deranged members of the family. While Blood Wards make excellent safety device, their use has been debated rather strongly. This is due to the power that they give the caster over the primary target of the blood wards. The caster can basically limit the person within the premises of the wards and can up to some degree even influence the mindset of not only the primary target but also the any other who may be in some way affected by the blood wards, although this affect is usually limited to amplifying the already present urges. Due to this Blood Wards had been declared as Border line Dark curse and their use is strictly monitored._

_One of the more stronger misconception regarding the blood wards is that it requires love to work. While not entirely wrong, researchers have found that any strong emotion can be used to invoke blood wards. The most effective of which is hatred._

_Like almost all the others wards Blood wards requires the use of rune stones. If destroyed, the blood wards would fail completely. It is also noted that once Blood Wards fail at a place similar blood wards or at least the Blood wards using the same blood cannot be erected again._

_What is more astonishing about the blood wards is even though they are amongst the strongest wards present, they only require one rune stone to work which is usually placed in one corner of the wards. Experts have theorized that this could be due to its strong dependency over emotions._

_The method of making and erecting a blood ward is strictly monitored by the ministry and hence cannot be written._

Harry, Ginny and Luna sat in shock as they absorbed what they had read. All they hoped to find about blood wards was how to destroy it but instead they had found that Dumbledore could have helped in making Harry's life miserable. This only fuelled the anger that they felt towards the old man. He had not only sent Harry towards a life of Despair but helped make it more difficult for him.

"This certainly is new," Harry commented.

"Well, we should have expected something like this, after all its Dumbledore," Ginny said finally getting over anger and shock.

"Mm, oh look, they look like baby humdingers," Luna said. Harry and Ginny could only stare at the blonde girl as she sat at one corner of the room and began inspecting.

Their confusion soon turned into laughter, Luna would just remain Luna no matter. Harry and Ginny shared a look, this didn't change anything and it was hardly something they should waste their time over.

"I am sure they would be fine, but I think you should get here soon or we'll start without you," Harry said to Luna.

As Luna walked towards them, Ginny blew a raspberry at her, "Loony."

Luna turned and regarded Ginny calmly, "Did you say something Ginevra?"

Harry shook with laughter as Ginny turned scarlet. All of them knew how much Ginny hated her full name.

Ginny was just about to retort when they were interrupted by Harry, "Enough, Enough, time to practice."

Glaring at Luna she lifted her wand preparing to go over the spell they had learnt so far.

...

"Ugh we really need a training room," Ginny said exasperated. Right now they were on the seventh floor coming back from their recent head quarters.

"Yes, I wish we really had a big training room where we can practice any spell we want thoroughly," Harry agreed.

"Harry, Ginny Look," Luna said motioning to one side.

Harry and Ginny turned around to look at what Luna was pointing, to their amazement there was a huge set of door that they don't remember being there.

"Where did that come from?" Harry asked amazed that they didn't notice such a big door.

"Well let's go in and find out what it is for," Ginny said excited at having another adventure.

The three friends entered in the room to find it looking exactly like a training room. There were shelves full of books which on closer inspection were about different lethal spells. There were dummies present on one side and one side there was what looked like a small obstacle room.

"Wow, where did this room come from?" Harry said repeating his previous question.

To their amazement a slip of parchment unfurled in front of them out of nowhere. They looked at each other stunned at the bizarre turn of events. First there was a room that somehow they didn't notice, then the room was exactly what they wanted for right now and now a slip of parchment came out of nowhere.

Gathering her courage Ginny reached out and took the parchment and began reading it.

_Welcome to Room of Requirement! It is a magical room that came into existence by the will of Hogwarts to fulfil the needs of her students. It can be accessed by walking three times in front of the blank stretch of the wall just opposite to the portrait of Barnabas the Barmy while thinking of what they want. The room will provide anything as long as the intended desire it. Also any wish made inside the room will be instantly granted. Although any object that came into existence inside the room cannot be taken outside. Please enjoy the stay inside the room._

_Yours Truly,_

_The Room of Requirement,_

Harry and Ginny stared at how the parchment or rather the letter was signed. It seems like the Room actually had a sense of humour. Undaunted by the fact that it was a room who said it Luna turned towards the room, "Oh Thank You roomie." Now Luna was the focus of stares from Ginny and Harry.

Slowly the information that they have just read made its way to their brain and when it did they couldn't help but laugh in joy. They just had found the perfect place for every need.

"Do you know what this means?" Ginny said mischievously.

"What?" Harry asked.

"No more jogging in the cold weather," Ginny giggled.

"You know Ginny," Harry began seriously, "If that's the only thing that you are thinking right now than I might have to take you to the infirmary."

"Of course there are other things Harry," Ginny said dismissively, "But I am in no way jogging in that awful weather now."

"Okay! Okay! So now that we can do anything we want, where should we begin now?"

"But didn't we just return from training?" Ginny asked.

"So, we do need to check out the room don't we?" Harry smirked, "Now spells,"

"I just know the perfect hex," Ginny said brightly, "The blasting hex,"

"Really Ginny why do you always pick the flashy ones?" Harry said with a shake of his head.

"Hey I like flashes, besides Blasting hexes are pretty useful," Ginny replied.

All along their banter Luna was busy in a one way discussion with the room. The other two looked at her and shook their head. Luna would remain Luna.

"O Looney come on we are starting to practice," Ginny called out to her.

Luna turned towards her, "Of course Ginevra coming."

As they prepared to cast the spell the dummies began moving and stood directly in front of them.

"Cool!" Harry said, "Now CONFRINGO!"

And with that their first training session began. They practiced the blasting hexes at first at small range and then at long range or as long range as the room could allow. Even magical rooms have their limits.

Afterwards to their astonishment the dummies began moving on their own making it quite hard to hit them.

"Wow, moving targets! I didn't even think about it," Harry said in amazement.

It took them several hours to finish the training with the blasting hex but when they did it was obvious that they had complete mastery over it. The training regimen had included not only moving targets but also power control.

"Phew, that was something," Ginny said sitting down on the couch that the room provided after they finished their training.

"Oh shit," Harry cursed.

"What happened Harry?" Ginny asked curiously.

"We are late its way beyond curfew time," Harry said.

"No need to panic Harry," Luna said, "The room will provide us with a way, won't you roomie," Luna said at first to Harry and then turning towards the room.

As soon as she stopped speaking a door emerged in the wall next to the main door. Harry, Ginny and Luna opened the door to find themselves in the Gryffindor common room.

"Wow, the room sure is full of surprise," Harry said with astonishment, Ginny and Luna agreeing with him wholeheartedly.

"Well it is late," Ginny said stifling a yawn, "See you tomorrow Harry, come on Luna."

"Good night Harry," Luna said.

"Good night Ginny, Luna," Harry said to the girls watching them go up the stairs before he began walking up the stairs to his own room intending to get a really peaceful sleep after their double training session.

...

The end of term was there and Harry Ginny and Luna had finished their exams. Not only that but they had received the results as well. As expected Harry, Ginny and Luna topped the year. But the one actually at the top was Luna followed by Ginny and then Harry.

Harry, Ginny and Luna hauled their trunks to the train and quickly secured a compartment to them. Now it was a long ride before they would be separated to live their miserable lives for the summer but they still had more than a few hours and they were not going to waste them brooding.

"So the year ended huh?" Harry said hoping to start a conversation.

"It was an eventful year for us. Never knew Dumbledore could be so bad," Ginny said quietly.

"So what are you going to do about your relatives Harry and those wards?" Luna asked.

"Well since my relatives at last know that I know I am magical, I am going to use it against them," Harry said with a grin. When they had found out about the restriction on underage sorcery Harry had immediately questioned his use of windless magic and how the ministry never detected. Ginny and Luna just shrugged before guessing that the trace must be on the wand.

"So what are you going to do Ginny?" Harry asked.

"I don't know," Ginny said with a sigh, "My life isn't as bad as you, only my Mother and Ron are against me. Dad don't say anything about it but I can see that he doesn't like it at all,"

"Then why doesn't he say anything about it?" Harry said with anger. He didn't like people who abuse children or those who just see it.

"Our house is run by our Mum Harry, Our dad is just whipped by her," Ginny said scornfully.

"And your brothers, at least I know that Charlie is good with you," Harry said.

"Yeah Bill and Charlie, my two eldest brothers. They always protected me from my mum. But these days they are not just home anymore. Bill is in Egypt and Charlie works with dragons. But still whenever they come they do everything to protect me from Mum," Ginny said with a smile, "As for Percy and the twins, Percy is always in his room and Twins, well they don't have time for anything besides their pranks."

"Oh, at least Bill and Charlie are good to you," Harry said quietly. An air of gloom had descended on the compartment.

"So what are you doing this summer, Luna?" Harry asked in an attempt to steer the conversation away from the gloom.

"Well, I expect Dad would be gone on one of his hunts so I'll have the house all to myself. I was thinking of spending the summer nude or at least till I am alone in my home," Luna replied.

"W-w-what?" Harry spluttered, images of a nude Luna dancing through his head.

"Oh it's just that clothes are just such a confinement," Luna said as if she hadn't noticed Harry's reaction, "actually as if it's just the three of us here why don't I take them off, it would certainly be relaxing," she stood up and was about to take off her robes when Harry stopped her.

"NOOO LUNA," his face was completely red.

"Why Harry? Do you have some problem with me being naked?" Luna asked her big grey eyes staring at him.

"Err..." Harry mumbled.

"Never mind Harry," Ginny said taking over smirking at him, "it's just that he had never seen a girl naked," she said.

"Oh! Then he would see one today, I don't mind," Luna said once again and was about to take off her robes again when the compartment door slid open.

"What are you doing here Harry with those two?" it was Ron standing in the doorway with his chest puffed up like an idiot, "they are girls harry, come on spend time with us guys, we'll have lots of fun." His chest puffed even more like he had won already. He moved to grab Harry but Harry just jerked him off.

"Get lost Ron I am having fun with them alright," Harry snapped at him.

"How can you have some fun with..." but before he could finish his sentence Harry slammed the door shut. It was followed by a muffled ouch from the other side. It seemed like Ron wouldn't be walking rightly for some time.

"So where were we?" Harry asked.

"I was just about to take my robe off," Luna said before she stood up again but this time Ginny grabbed her shoulder and made her sit down again.

"What is it Ginny. Do you need something?" Luna asked patiently.

"Nothing, I was just saying it would be so inconvenient to take the robes off and then wear them again don't you think," Ginny said smoothly.

"Oh you are right Ginny, It would really be very inconvenient," Luna said before she fished out a quibbler from her bag. Rest of the journey was spent laughing at the outrageous stories in quibbler except for that short visit by Malfoy which was cut even shorter when Harry slammed the door again this time it was Malfoy cursing around the whole car.

Soon the pleasant journey ended and they took out their trunks before getting off the train.

"Okay then I'll see you two after the summer have a pleasant summer okay and take care of yourself," Luna said with a smile but there was a touch of concern in her voice. No matter how aloof the girl was Harry and Ginny knew she cared deeply for them.

Harry and Ginny moved towards where Mrs. Weasley was standing. Ron had just arrived there too and was loudly complaining about hunger.

"Hello Mum," Ginny said in a calm tone. Too calm according to Harry.

"Hello Ginevra," Molly began stiffly but then she turned towards them and froze seeing Harry there, "Who is this young man Ginny?" the change in tone didn't go unnoticed by Harry nor the false curiosity. He knew that the woman knew who he was.

"This is Harry mum, Harry Potter," Ginny replied a bit stiffly.

"Oh hello Harry, how are you?" Mrs. Weasley said.

"I am fine Mrs. Weasley," Harry answered.

"That's good really Harry," Mrs. Weasley said with a big smile, "Can I ask what you are doing with my daughter? Not to sound rude or anything she's not really very smart, My Ronnie on the other is the brightest," Mrs. Weasley while motioning towards Ron who was stuffing his face full of a Sandwich that Mrs. Weasley gave him a few moments ago.

"Really Mrs. Weasley," Harry said. He couldn't stand this woman. He had met her for only a few seconds and she was already giving him advice on who to befriend? "I must be off now oh and Ginny congratulation once again on coming second in the whole year, bye."

"Bye Harry," Ginny said with a big smile.

While going Harry couldn't help but noticed a big smile on the man that he thought was Ginny's father even as if Ginny's mother began scolding her.

With that their first year together ended but they still had six more to go and each friend vowed as they separated for the summer that no one could come between their deep friendships whether it be a stupid mother or a manipulative headmaster. Even if they were separated by hundreds of kilometres now, there was no one else who was closer to them than each other. For they carried their friends in their hearts.

As Harry was sitting in Dursley's car looking at the setting sun among the busy streets of London a thought flashed through his mind

_Distance doesn't matter. We are together even now, I can feel them in my heart._

A thought which was unknowingly echoed by the girls.

_We will be together forever._

And with that thought the sun set, looking as if it was taking away the gloom of their previous life away from them.

The hardships they had suffered till now didn't matter.

They knew their life till now was miserable but they couldn't care less.

It was not lost on them that they had lost a big portion of their childhood but for them it was now meaningless.

For they had each other now.

And they knew that the life awaiting them was full of strife and suffering.

But it still was not enough to vanish the smile from their faces.

For they knew when the time will come.

When one of them would be in a predicament.

Other two would always be there to take his hand.

Always there to support him.

Always there to help him.

Even if the whole world shunned them.

Even if the whole world ridiculed them.

They will still have each other.

They might just be about twelve years old now.

But they knew one thing beyond doubt.

A thing that was so firmly ingrained in their hearts.

A thought that never wavered in their minds.

Something they couldn't even think to be false.

_We will be together forever._

...


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: Yo! people I am back. Hopefully you missed me. Missed me so much that it hurt. Who am I kidding? If anything you people missed it would be these chapter? readers are cruel like that. I wanna cry :(. Oh well atleast you don't hate me. Yet. So to stop you from hating me here's the next chapter.  
**

Chapter 08

Harry sighed and shut the potion book. Without Snape learning potion was always easy. It had been almost a month since he returned to the Dursleys. The month has been the most enjoyable of all. The Dursleys had been quite afraid of him throughout the whole ride back to Privet Drive. To make the fear deeper Harry had actually wandlessly levitated the trunk to his room. The Dursleys had been struck dumb at this display of magic. After that they had steered clear of his way. He didn't even have to do any chores for them. Even Dudley had not come near him since he got back. That doesn't mean that he was not messing with him. Dudley's clumsiness had become a norm since then. He suspected that his Aunt and Uncle knew it was him but didn't say anything in fear of him. But this only meant Harry had nothing interesting to do. He just wished that he could spend the time with his friends.

Harry sighed again as his thoughts turned towards his friends. In the whole month that he had been here he hadn't received even a single letter from them. He didn't believe that his friends had abandoned him. No they were too close for that to happen. He suspected that someone, likely Dumbledore was tampering with his mail. The old man didn't like his friendship with the girls that much was clear. He didn't put it past him to stop his mail so that their friendship could be broken. Not to mention Hedwig was always agitated when he returned from delivering his letter. Harry was sure that the owl knew something about the apprehender. Hedwig was really smart. Harry just wished that he could understand what his beautiful owl was saying.

Harry was startled out of his reverie by the sound of the thundering footsteps. It was lunch time already. He scrambled out of his room and went into the dining hall. His place was set already. He sat down and began eating quickly. After the revelation of Harry's magic his Aunt had begun setting a place for him automatically. After eating lunch as quickly as he can he went out. He could feel eyes on the back of his neck as he made his way to the nearby park. His watcher was here again. Harry had begun feeling someone else's presence day after he arrived here. Thankfully they weren't here when he showed his magic. Although the watcher remained outside he wouldn't put it past them to have a way of looking inside. That's why he couldn't practice even his wandless magic.

After settling down in the swing that somehow survived Dudley and his gang's assault he once again started thinking about his friends. His friends. The very thought brought smile to his face. Before going to Hogwarts he never had any friends and frankly he wasn't expecting any friends either but he had befriended two amazing witches also he trusted Ginny and Luna completely. Ginny was a fiery and out spoken one, the boldest one in their group, the one always taking risks. Not only that but quite mischievous one. Boldness and mischievousness when combined could be quite dangerous. Harry couldn't remember exactly how many times it was that they found themselves almost caught by a teacher when they were wandering the castles at night. Thankfully at that time they had Luna, the brains of their group. The girl had a really powerful insight. She could see things and understand what no one else could. Frankly she was a genius. People tended to think that she was a creep because of the way she talked. Even though Harry admitted that sometimes she tended to go on strange tangents, there was always some wisdom behind her words, some insight that could startle anyone and all of this only at the age of eleven. Harry shuddered to think what she would be like when she grew up. Harry shook his head as he thought about them. And they were his friends a normal person who was hell bent on revenge against the leader of the current wizarding Britain. They hadn't hesitated in standing by him even if they knew so little about him back then. All it took was one day for them to bond over and Harry was sure that they would remain friends no matter what and merlin help anyone who would try to come in between them.

His thoughts now turned to Dumbledore. He had only met the man once. But it was sure beyond a doubt that the man was a manipulator and it wouldn't be good for him to believe in anything that he does. If he wanted to defeat the man he had to win his trust somehow. Harry suspected it would be really hard if he was as shrewd as he thought he was. He needed to change his approach somewhat. But he couldn't abandon his friendship with his friends. That left him with only one option. Somehow twist the perception of Dumbledore to believe that this friendship is beneficial to him. At least long enough for him to somehow get out of Dumbledore's grasp. He hated the man with a passion. He was as much responsible if not more for his parent's death as Voldemort. Harry vowed that Dumbledore would be the first to fall.

...

Molly watched her daughter working in the garden. Her daughter! Even almost twelve years the phrase sounded foreign to her. She never wanted a daughter but Arthur always wanted one. The reason she never wanted a girl was deeply rooted in her teens.

Molly sighed as she thought about her childhood. She never was a pretty girl even in her peak. The girls at Hogwarts always used to ridicule to her for her chubbiness. They always called her a cow and how she resembled so much a pig. It was then that her hatred for other girls began. And when her daughter, so beautiful and adorable, was born instead of feeling a motherly love for her as she had for her sons she felt a deep jealousy. Jealousy of the young girl's beauty. Why was she never that beautiful when even her daughter is so pretty? As the years passed and Ginny became even more beautiful that jealousy too increased. Why? Why is she so beautiful? She should be as ugly and as fat as me. Her delicate hands like the petals of a flower which had just bloomed always sent her into frenzy. Her beautiful pale skin made her want to rip it off from her. Her slender frame made Molly even more jealous. That was the reason why she always sent her to work hard out into the sun. Always when she returned from her work she would look at her daughter's skin and hands hoping that her skin would be getting burnt or her hands were stiffer but she was always disappointed. Even now looking at her daughter shining brightly in the sun with a smile on her face even when she was mucking the coop sent her into a fit of rage.

"Ginevra! Is that how you do work? You can't even muck the coop properly. Do it better."

To think that Arthur wanted a daughter made her wanted to vomit. Wasn't she enough for him? She remembered when she first met Arthur. She was being bullied by the other girls but Arthur had rescued her. He had told her she was not ugly but rather she was very beautiful from inside. Since then she had become obsessed with him. She knew that with her looks she would never be able to get someone like Arthur but she was not going to give up. And she did get Arthur albeit with a love potion. But even the love potion was not enough. She knew how Arthur looked at his daughter, with such love and adoration. True and real love! What she couldn't get that little slut had gotten so easily. They had six boys but Arthur never looked at them like he did at Ginny. That's why she never liked beautiful girls. They always manage to get whatever they want even if it belonged to someone else.

...

Luna stared at her ceiling. She was currently in her bed lying bored out of her mind. An empty house was no fun. There were no interesting creatures to find either. So she had turned to her favourite hobby, thinking about her friends. She had known Ginny for a long time and they were fast friends. Harry on the other hand she had met only recently. She had found him quite interesting. Not many people hated Dumbledore and those that hated him tended to be on the darker side. While Harry hated him for the things that he did to him, mainly leaving him with the Dursleys. Luna agreed with Harry's opinion of Dumbledore whole heartedly and that was one of the reason that she had agreed to help Harry take Dumbledore down. The man seemed to be infested by wrackspurts. And someone who was infected by wrackspurts shouldn't lead the people.

Leading the people brought her thoughts back to Harry. He had the potential to become a wonderful leader. He was hard working, nice, gentle and quiet not to mention he had a knack for making people follow him everywhere. Yes he would make a wonderful leader.

Ginny on the other hand was what could be called the heart. She had known her for at least two years now and near her there was not a gentler soul than her. She was kind, sympathetic and has the ability to comfort other like no one else.

As Luna kept staring the ceiling she decided that it truly was wonderful that they had befriended her. The lack of letters from Harry didn't bother her. She had discussed this with Ginny in detail and they had concluded that it could be Dumbledore's ploy to somehow drift them apart. She was sure that one of her friends wouldn't abandon her. They were way too good for that.

...

Harry sat morosely in the swing. There was just so much that you could do in a virtually empty park and Dudley teasing had gotten boring after a while. He had already finished his books and was considering going to Diagon Alley to buy his school supplies. He had run out of books and desperately needed to buy some new ones so he may not be bored to death.

He couldn't read his old books right now as there were some guests visiting his uncle. He was surprised to hear about the guests till he heard that they were from his Uncle's company Grunning's Inc. He had decided to stay out of the house not wanted to be caught in the flurry of activity in the house.

He was startled out of his reverie by an odd popping voice. He looked towards the source of voice and nearly jumped out of his skin. There standing in front of him was the oddest creature he had ever seen goblins included.

"What are you?" Harry demanded. He knew that it was rude but he couldn't help it. His brain was not working properly.

"I is Dobby Harry Potter Sir. A house elf," the thing answered.

"A house elf?" Harry repeated. He had read about house elf. They belonged to prominent ancient families and were loyal to them.

"What do you want from me?" Harry said wondering the same thing.

"Dobby has come here to tell Master Harry Potter Sir that a great danger awaits in Hogwarts. Harry Potter Sir mustn't return to Hogwarts,"

"What?" Harry said totally confused. He thought the elf must be mental.

But Dobby just lunged towards the pole of the swing and started banging his head, "Bad Dobby, Bad Dobby He upsets the Great Harry Potter Sir. Dobby is a bad elf."

Harry immediately lunged towards the elf trying to pry him away from the pole. For such a small creature he had a surprising amount of strength, "No Dobby, I am not upset, I am just confused. Don't hurt yourself."

Dobby looked at Harry with his big eyes, "Is what Master Harry Potter sir saying true?" Harry nodded, " Oh Master Harry Potter sir is so great. He helps poor Dobby. Dobby isn't worthy of being in Harry Potter Sir presence," Dobby was crying now. Big large tears dropping from his eyes.

Harry was standing there looking quite uncomfortable, "Err, Dobby you were saying something about a danger in Hogwarts?"

Dobby stopped his crying, "Yes Harry Potter sir, there is a scheme afoot at Hogwarts to hurt student. Harry Potter Sir must not go there."

"I can't do that Dobby, I have got friends there," Harry said soothingly to Dobby.

"Friends that don't even write to Harry Potter Sir?" Dobby inquired.

At that Harry saw red. It had become clear who was stopping his mail. He wanted to strangle the little elf for trying to divert his mail but he need to calm down. He needed information from the elf that he couldn't get from his dead body.

"Dobby I need my mail please," Harry said as calmly as he could.

Dobby looked shocked for a second before he brought out a stack of letter from the towel that he was wearing, "Dobby will give it to Harry Potter Sir but first he must promise not to return to Hogwarts."

Harry was seething at the little elf for his continued effort to keep him away from Hogwarts, "Dobby if you will give me my letters I will think about it."

Dobby shook his big ears, "No first Harry Potter Sir must promise Dobby he won't return to Hogwarts."

Harry looked at the elf straight in the eye, "Don't you trust me Dobby?"

The house elf looked at Harry in shock like he wasn't expecting it, "Dobby trust Harry Potter sir. He killed the dark lord. Dobby trusts Harry Potter."

"Then give me my letters Dobby," Harry said extending his hands.

Dobby's ears dropped as he handed Harry the letter all the while mumbling, "Harry Potter Sir is so great. He asks for poor Dobby trust. Of course Dobby trusts him."

Harry quickly tucked the letters inside his robe afraid that the elf might snatch them back, "So what is this danger at Hogwarts Dobby?"

Dobby shook his head, "Dobby is not knowing sir. All he is knowing that there's a big danger at Hogwarts," Dobby's face suddenly contorted, "Dobby's master is calling him Dobby must go now Harry Potter sir you mustn't go to Hogwarts," and with that Dobby vanished from the sight.

Harry stared at the place where Dobby was standing just a moment ago. His mind was racing, all he could think about was that there was some great danger at Hogwarts and the fact that he didn't even get any information from him. '_Should have killed him when I had the chance," _Harry thought morosely.

Harry shook his head. He would think about them later first he had a few letters to read. He took out the letters and began pilfering through them most of them were as expected from Ginny and Luna but there was also few letters from Ron, he never learned, and shockingly one from Mrs. Weasley too. Harry quickly tore open the letter and began scanning it. It was letter inviting him to the Burrow. Harry was stunned, he never expected her to invite him to her house. Harry shrugged his shoulders. There was no harm in going there not to mention he would be able to meet with Ginny and Luna earlier. Harry got down from the swing and quickly began walking back. He had a few letters to write and hopefully they wouldn't be intercepted this time.

...

Harry bit back another frustrated yell as he looked at Mrs. Weasley piling food on his plate for the third time. He was beginning to regret coming here after all. Mr. Weasley had come to pick him up at Dursleys. He wanted to meet his relatives but Harry had managed to convince the older man to stay outside while he brought his things to the car. After then they had gone on long drive to St. Ottery Catchpole. It was a pleasant drive but Harry was beginning to get tired of Mr. Weasley's enthusiasm for the muggle contraption. Honestly he himself didn't know how a toaster toasts a toast as said by Mr. Weasley. In the end he was glad that he had arrived at the Burrow.

The Burrow was a strange building which just screamed of magic. His elation at finally having to meet Ginny again was quickly replaced by horror when it was revealed to him that he would be sharing a room with Ron. Granted he shared the room with the redhead stupidity for the last year but thankfully their beds were miles apart and there were two other boys with him which made Ron's presence a little bearable but now faced with the prospect of sharing a room with him all alone made him want to run screaming. Ron's side of the room was bad enough as it is, now he had to live within that mess. Not like he had any choice in the matter, he was a guest after all.

Any remaining hope of having a good visit was quickly quashed when he entered Ron's room. How could someone live in a room that made your eyes squint by just looking at it? The yellow colour of the room was simply horrifying. Harry just hoped that he could have had a decent night sleep between Ron's snores and the colour.

If that was not enough it seemed like Mrs. Weasley was on a crusade to keep him away from Ginny and made him spend as much time with Ron. If he spent any more time with him he was afraid that Ron's stupidity will rub off on him.

But he was not going to give up like that. He came here for the sole purpose of spending as much time as he could with Ginny and Luna and he would be damned if he didn't accomplish that objective. He finished up as soon as he can and got up from the table before Mrs. Weasley could descend on him and give him something else to eat. The woman was a good cook but there was just so much that he could eat. He walked out of room discreetly winking at Ginny, letting her know that he was going to Luna and to meet him there. He walked towards the river spot that Ginny had mentioned as their secret meeting place. He sat there and waited for Ginny to join him. His thoughts wandered to Luna and whether she would really be nude. The thought was enough to produce some very interesting images of Luna in her birth suit. Harry shook his head. It seemed like his hormones were kicking in.

It took Ginny better portion of an hour to arrive there and even then she was panting like she had run a marathon.

"Sorry Harry had to sprint from my mother or she would have given me another chore," Ginny said panting.

"It's alright Ginny, did they notice my absence?" Harry asked.

"No, Mother was too busy fussing over Ron," Ginny said with a grin.

"Okay then let's go to Luna's place, alright," Harry said.

Ginny nodded and began leading Harry towards Luna's house. Luna had shown her, her house sometime before therefore she knew where it was.

For someone as strange as Luna, her house was actually quite normal. It was a normal two story house that looked quite spacious.

"Come on Harry," Ginny said before she went to the front door and knocked. Someone looked through the window before the door was opened by Luna in all her glory.

Harry's eyes bulged as he looked at Luna. He tried to avert his eyes but couldn't. Luna really had grown during the summer. Either that or Hogwarts robe really hid a lot, Harry decided.

Unfortunately for Harry, Ginny had noticed Harry's predicament. She took his hand and dragged him in before turning to Luna, "Luna why don't you go and wear some clothes we'll wait here for you."

"But I like it like this," Luna protested.

"I know Luna, but this pervert here won't be able to talk while you are like this," Ginny said smirking at Harry.

"Hey, I am not a pervert, besides I am perfectly capable of speech thank you," Harry protested but Ginny's smirk just got wider.

"Poor Harry, he doesn't want his entertainment to be cut off, don't you Harry?" Ginny cooed at him.

Harry just harrumphed at her thinking it below him to grace that question with an answer.

"So Luna dress up so we can talk like civilized people," Ginny said to Luna.

Luna turned and walked up the stairs. Harry for the first time found her walking quite mesmerising till Ginny smacked him on the head.

"Mind out of the gutter Potter," Ginny said while smirking at him.

"Gutter? What do you mean? I was in heaven," Harry protested earning him another smack on the head.

It didn't take Luna long to dress up in a jeans and shirts. She then beckoned them up to her room.

"So Luna how was your summer?" Harry asked plopping down in the arm chair while the girls sat on the bed.

"Quite freeing Harry thank you. I liked being naked. I am thinking at I should spend all my days alone like this just like the nights," Luna answered.

"You sleep naked Luna?" Harry exclaimed.

"Of course Harry don't you?" Luna asked in confusion, "Even Ginny sleeps nude."

"Luna!" Ginny exclaimed horrified, "You are not supposed to tell the others that."

"Why Ginny? Harry is a perfectly good friend and you shouldn't keep secrets from your friends, right Harry?"

Harry on the other hand was feeling quite dazed images of a naked Luna were now joined by a naked Ginny sleeping, her sheet thrown off.

"POTTER," Harry literally jumped out of the chair at hearing the growl. He once again jumped when he saw Ginny's wand levelled at him.

"I trust Potter that you were not fantasising about me in that perverted mind of yours?" Ginny growled her wand emitting sparks.

Harry gulped, seeing how close those sparks were to him, "Err, Of course not Ginny, I was just thinking about Dumbledore," the words were out of his mouth before he realized what he said.

"So you were fantasizing about Dumbledore Harry, instead of two young girls?" Ginny asked mischievously.

"NO! Merlin! Forget I ever said," Harry's expression were one of total disgust and horror.

"It's perfectly alright Harry, many people are attracted to same sex, though I am sure the age difference would be a bit of problem," Luna said with a frown.

Ginny began giggling at Luna's comment which turned to outright laughter when she saw the effect at Harry. She was rolling on the bed in laughter with tears streaming down her face.

"OH Merlin Harry, that was fantastic," Ginny said wiping her eyes.

"Yes it would be to you," Harry grumbled, "So let's get back to the track I have something important to tell you."

"Okay Harry," Ginny said. Her attention focused on Harry, Luna too was listening intently.

Harry began telling them about the visit by Dobby and how he warned against the incoming threat at Hogwarts.

"Though I couldn't get anything else from him he ran before I could ask. Not to mention I wanted to kill him for stopping my mail," Harry said still quite furious at the little elf. Who was he to stop his mail?

"Not to mention we would have known who was planning it. I am sure he or she were his master," Ginny commented.

"Still the list is not that long, only very old established pureblood families keep house elves," Luna commented.

"So it could be Malfoys?" Harry asked.

"Maybe! Someone like them must have a house elf," Ginny said.

"Not to mention I could completely see Malfoy treating their house elf like dirt," Harry asked.

"It's just not them, I would say almost every pureblood family treat their house elf like dirt," Luna said.

"So we still have way too many suspects to know who it was," Harry frowned.

"Or it could very well be just a prank to rile you up. Remember Harry House elf can't do anything without their Master's orders," Ginny theorized.

"I agree, that is a very real possibility," Luna said.

"So we don't even know that the threat was real?" Harry asked frustrated.

"Yes, but we should work on the assumption that the warning was real," Ginny said.

"Yes better safe than sorry," Luna agreed.

"Okay then what else do we have?" Harry asked.

"I might have something interesting," Ginny said, "You know Dumbledore came to our house a few weeks back to meet my mother."

"Really?" Harry asked interested, "Why did he come to visit do you know that?"

Ginny nodded, "Fortunately they didn't ward the door as all of us were outside but I managed to sneak in. Apparently Dumbledore is concerned about your welfare and he doesn't think I am a good influence on you," Ginny said smirking.

"Really? He might be right," Harry said.

"Prat," Ginny glared at him before continuing, "So he wanted mother to invite you into Burrow and give you some "Quality time" with Ronnie. Mother agrees with him. That was when she sent you the invitation," Ginny finished.

"So that was why I was invited, I did wonder why your mother wrote to me. At first I thought it was because of Ron but now I know that it was because of Dumbledore," Harry said.

"So now we know for sure that Dumbledore doesn't approve of our friendship or at least not between Ginny any you," Luna said, "Now we should move forward with that in mind."

"I think it would be a good idea to learn how to detect potions," Harry said, "I wouldn't put it past him to spike our drinks with love potion or something else."

"I agree Harry we should be going to Diagon Alley soon. We could buy the books then," Ginny commented.

"That reminds me Ginny, how would you like a wardrobe as your birthday present?" Harry said suddenly.

"Wardrobe Harry?" Ginny stared at him like he had grown an extra head, "absolutely not first you buy me a wand and now you want to buy me a wardrobe? Don't be ridiculous it would cost a fortune."

"I have more than a fortune Ginny," Harry replied, "besides who would I spend it on besides my best friend? I know you don't like wearing those second hand robes."

"I don't Harry, but that doesn't mean I would let you buy me such an expensive gift like that. You should save the money for when you would need it," Ginny replied stubbornly.

"My best friend needs it now and my friends needs come before mine," Harry said, "Now I don't want to listen anymore you are getting a wardrobe and that's it."

"But..." Ginny protested weakly. In truth she would like nothing more than to get some new robes but she cannot let her friend spend so much money on her.

"No Buts Ginny. Please let me buy you a new wardrobe please?" Harry said while looking at her with big eyes.

Ginny couldn't resist it anymore. She loved those emerald green eyes and when they were looking at her like that she wasn't sure she could deny him anything, "Fine I won't stop you. Buy me whatever you want. Be warned though I am going to do some real shopping now."

"Harry just nodded his head enthusiastically, "Whatever you need you can get Ginny."

"Poor Harry," Luna commented, "he has no idea what he has gotten himself into."

At that Ginny once again broke down in giggles. Harry looking confusedly at her why she was laughing like that.

...

Harry stared at the fireplace incredulously. Did they really expect him to go into a roaring living fire? If Ginny wasn't here with him he would have thought that the Weasley's were trying to kill him.

"It's alright Harry just throw the powder and yell your destination really clear. There are many fireplaces so if you don't say it clearly it might get confused OK?" Ginny whispered to him.

Harry nodded his before throwing the floo powder in. As soon as the fire turned green he stepped into it against his better judgment. To his amazement the fire was cool, "Diagon Alley," Harry shouted and with that the fireplace in front of him began rotating. He tried to focus on the fireplaces flashing through him but it only made him Dizzy. After a moment he was thrown out quite unceremoniously and landed face first on the ground.

"I see Mr. Potter, you really missed the leaky cauldron so much that you are hugging its floor," said an amused voice.

Harry looked up to see it was Tom the old bar keeper.

"Whatever Tom," Harry muttered.

Till now Ron and Mrs. Weasley had flooed in and were standing on one side looking at their interaction.

"What would you like today then Mr. Potter?" Tom asked.

"Nothing Tom, I am here for shopping with my friend," Harry replied smiling.

"Come on Harry dear let's go we have so much to do," Mrs. Weasley said shooing them out while looking at Tom suspiciously. All the Weasley's were already there.

"Harry dear you shouldn't talk to him like that. I don't like that old bar keeper much," Mrs. Weasley admonished him after they had come out of Leaky Cauldron.

Harry rolled his eyes at Mrs. Weasley's antics. He didn't need her advice, "Yes, Mrs. Weasley."

Their first stop was Gringotts. The goblins were their usual non cooperating selves although the cart ride was as fun as before. Their first shop was Weasley's vault, where Mrs. Weasley took the few galleons. Next was Harry's vault even though he didn't need to go there but he didn't think it would be a good idea to tell her about the infinity bag. After taking the money and putting it in infinity bag from where they would return to the vault again he walked out. He could clearly see the look of jealousy at Ron's face and the calculating look at Mrs. Weasley's face. All the other Weasley's just looked amazed. Harry just groaned. It seemed like he had some gold diggers on hand. Soon they were out of the Gringotts and ready to shop.

He started looking for Ginny and found her almost at the back of group. He was about to go to her when he was interrupted by Mrs. Weasley. Again.

"Where are you going Harry dear?"

Harry barely stopped himself from giving a snappy retort. It was obvious he was going towards Ginny but before he could reply Ron grabbed his hand.

"Come on mate let's look at the Quidditch Quality Supplies," Ron said before he started dragging Harry towards the nearby shop. Thankfully the Weasley congregation followed.

"Wow, look at this Nimbus 2001, it's so sleek and go much faster than Nimbus 2000. Why don't you buy this Harry?" Ron said drooling at the sight of the new broom.

Harry just rolled his eyes at his antics," I don't need a new broom. I have a perfectly fine broom."

"What? But it's so much better than that nimbus," Ron said aghast.

"Bugger off Ron," Harry replied quite annoyed at him.

"Harry language," Mrs. Weasley admonished him again. Harry barely stopped himself from rolling his eyes. She was not his mother and he sure as hell was not going to listen to a woman who treated her own daughter lower than gutter.

"Come on Ron let's get you some robes," Mrs. Weasley said before grabbing his arm and dragging him away from the window. All the while Ron was drooling.

On their way they passed a poster of a man who in Harry's opinion was smiling way too widely. Beneath it was written.

"_Gilderoy Lockhart. Book signing At Florish &amp; Blotts. Only Today,"_

Mrs. Weasley squealed like a little girl at seeing the poster. She immediately changed her direction to the book store that was much more crowded than usual. There was a line of young witches who all seemed to be in daze of the wizard in the poster. Mrs. Weasley immediately grabbed a set of books and got in line.

Seeing that Mrs. Weasley was distracted by Gilderoy Lockhart and all the other Weasley were just rolling their eyes at their Mother antics, Harry grabbed Ginny's hand and started dragging her to the nearby clothes shop.

"Harry what are you doing?" Ginny asked bewildered.

"Come on your family is busy with that man. Let's get you some robe," Harry hissed.

They entered the shop to find it virtually empty except for a clerk.

"How can I help you?" She asked smiling.

Harry pointed towards Ginny, "She needs a new wardrobe Ma'am," Harry said politely.

"A complete ward robe?" She asked surprised.

"Yes, her previous one was destroyed in a fire. She only had a few clothes left," Harry lied.

"Oh! And what about your parents?" she asked suspiciously.

"They are busy with the book signing," Harry lied once again.

The lies seemed to work as the woman just nodded her head sympathetically, "Yes! Too many people look up to that fraud."

"Fraud?" Harry asked interested in the little piece of information, while the clerk was busy measuring Ginny.

"Yes, he once came into our shop for new robes. The robe that he liked was a tad bit too big for him. I asked for the robes so that I could adjust them but he said he could do it and then he turned his wand right there and turned the robes into a frog. I ask you how someone like him can mistake a transfiguration spell with that of adjustment charm. They are not even remotely same," The woman exclaimed. She looked like one of the gossipy girls. With the measurement done she led Ginny inside to get her some robes that she could fit into.

It took an hour and a half for Ginny to emerge and by then she was loaded with different kind robes and dresses. The clerk soon followed carrying even more robes and dresses.

"What's all this?" Harry asked bewildered.

"Is it too much I can return them if you want," Ginny said nervously.

"No, I mean if you like them then you can keep them," Harry replied, though unsure what she was going to do with all these dresses.

"Okay Harry thanks," Ginny's face brightened. She dumped the clothes at the counter and the clerk gleefully began making the bill. Harry had a sneaking suspicion that his vault was going to have a large dent by the time the bill would be paid. But he promised Ginny and it's not like his family vault could run out of money.

"That would be two thousand galleons," The clerk declared before handing them a big bill.

Not even bothering to look at the bill, Harry just rolled it and stashed it in one of his pocket before taking out the infinity bag. To his surprise, two large notes came out of thousand galleons each.

Harry just sighed in relief. It seemed like he didn't have to wait around for the clerk to count two thousand coins. He gave the notes to Clerk who happily accepted them. No doubt happy at making quite a large commission.

"It was a pleasure doing business with you," the clerk said, "Come back anytime you need something."

Harry nodded his head before taking the shrunk bag. It wouldn't do to alert Molly Weasley that he just spent two thousand Galleons on her daughter.

They returned to the book store to find Mrs. Weasley almost to the front and thankfully their absence unnoticed. But it didn't last long as at that exact moment the man signing the books looked up and his eyes landed Harry.

"It couldn't be, The Harry Potter," the man who most certainly was Gilderoy Lockhart exclaimed.

At that the photographers who were taking photos of Lockhart turned towards Harry and start taking his pictures.

He was so shocked by this sudden assault of lights that he didn't see Lockhart coming till he was standing right beside him.

"Hello Harry, It's a pleasure to meet you," Lockhart said while shaking his hand so hard that Harry was sure that his hand would have ripped out of his socket. Lockhart leaned into him before whispering, "A big smile for the camera Harry between the two of us we are sure to make the front page."

Harry looked at him before shrugging his shoulder and smiling, no harm in playing to his strength. A good media publicity can always come in handy.

"It's good to meet you too Mr. Lockhart," Harry said grimacing internally at how wide the man was smiling.

"You can call me Gilderoy Harry," Lockhart said before turning towards the camera, "With Mr. Potter I am going to have make a big announcement. Mr. Potter here came to buy a copy of my biography _Magical Me_ but he got far more than that. He didn't just get my biography but also got me. Yes Ladies and Gentlemen, You are looking at the new defence professor of Hogwarts right now," Lockhart exclaimed loudly amidst the clicking of the cameras.

"I have assigned all my books as the subject books and as a gesture of good will I'll be giving Mr. Potter here a copy of each for free," at that announcement the book store rang with applause. No doubt at the generosity of Lockhart.

It was quite some time before Harry was able to get away from Lockhart and that too when he busy answering the questions to the press. He quickly found Ginny before dumping his books in her bag.

"What's this Harry? You already have given me enough," Ginny said glaring at him.

"It's alright Ginny, besides I didn't pay for them," Harry reasoned.

"Look what do we have here? potty and weaslette," a voice drawled behind them before both of them groaned simultaneously. One of Hogwarts most stupid had arrived.

"Hello Malfoy," Harry said smiling, "Where's Crabbe and Goyle? I was under the impression you three _do everything_ together."

Malfoy's face flushed at the implied insinuation. Before he could retort a hand on his shoulder stopped him. Harry and Ginny looked up to see a bigger version of Malfoy standing there. It was Malfoy's dad.

"Now, Now Draco friends do spend time together don't they Mr. Potter?" Lucius drawled.

"Of course Mr. Malfoy _friends_ do everything together no matter who they are, right?" Harry smirked at him.

Before Lucius could reply Mr. Weasley came there, "Hello Lucius," Mr. Weasley said stiffly.

"Hello Arthur," it was clear that there was no love lost between the two adults, "I heard you have been working quite hard. I am afraid even your hard work is not enough to fulfil your requirements right?"

Lucius moved forward and grabbed one of the books in the cauldron belonging to the Weasley children, "Oh my, what's this? A new book?" Lucius said softly, "Looks like hard work was not the only thing that you were doing Arthur," Lucius turned towards Mr. Weasley, "they do say tables hide a lot of things going below them.

Mr. Weasley flushed at Lucius implied meaning, "Why you..." Mr. Weasley said while lunging at him and punching him in the face. The elder Malfoy landed in a heap on the floor. Before Mr. Weasley could do anything else he was hoisted by Hagrid.

"Arthur what ye doin' in fron' of the children, don't min' him ye know how he is lilke," Hagrid said to Arthur Weasley while setting him down.

"Sorry Hagrid, I couldn't stop myself," Mr. Weasley said looking quite embarrassed.

"Well well Arthur enjoy the few days of freedom you have soon you won't be able to buy those rubbish books for your children either," Malfoy Sr. Said. He had gotten up till now and was looking his graceful self, "Come Draco," Mr. Malfoy said putting a hand on his smirking son's shoulder, "if we remain any longer we might become tainted too."

And with that Lucius Malfoy was gone.

…


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N: Yaho people, here you go, another on the time update. I actually don't have anything to say, just keeping you people away from reading the chapter. I am evil am I not?**  
Chapter 09:

Rest of the summer passed uneventfully for Harry, Ginny and Luna. Harry and Ginny tried to spend as much time as they could with Luna which was not much but still they appreciated what little time they had together. Still they couldn't wait to get back to Hogwarts and away from the annoying Molly Weasley. Ron would still be there but they could always ignore him.

Harry and Ginny's birthday came and passed without much incident. Molly Weasley baked a cake for Harry on his birthday which he was quite grateful for. A cake was baked on Ginny's birthday too but it was for Ron, although Luna's cakes were much more delicious. It was a surprise to both Harry and Ginny that Luna could cook. Luna had explained to them that she had been cooking the meals for her and her father since her mother died.

Harry awoke on September first to the sound of shouting and bangs. It was not unsurprising though as Fred, George and Ron hadn't packed their trunks last night. Taking advantage of the commotion Harry slipped into the empty bathroom and enjoyed a long luxurious bath. Unlike the Weasley boys he had his trunk packed and ready last night. He quickly got ready and dragged his trunk down where Mrs. Weasley was cooking breakfast. Only Ginny, Percy and he were down there with their trunks packed. Harry slid down in the seat beside Ginny. For once Mrs. Weasley didn't try to relocate him as she was too busy listening to Ron's screams about his missing clothes. Harry doubted that the red haired stupidity could find anything in that mess that he called his room.

The Weasleys were ready to go at about Half past ten. Mrs. Weasley shooed them in the old Ford Anglia which Harry suspected had enlargement charms on it. There was no way that all of them were going to fit into the small car like that. Unfortunately Harry had the seat with Ron once again. He sighed, he really couldn't wait to return to Hogwarts.

A very long journey which included going back once midway when Fred and George supposedly forgot their quills they reached the King's Cross station. With five minutes to spare Mrs. Weasley began shooing her children to Platform Nine and three quarters. Soon Ron and Harry were the only ones left with Mrs. Weasley going in ahead of them. Harry was about to go through the wall himself when he felt his cart got stuck at the wall. Thankfully he wasn't running or he might have suffered some head injury and Harry's greatest fear of becoming just like Ron might have been realized. As it is he was soon painfully reminded that the person in question was still with him.

"Harry mate what's the problem," Ron asked oblivious as always.

Harry gritted his teeth, "First Ron I am not your mate and second it looks like the doorway has been closed.

"Are you daft Harry?" Ron looked at Harry liked he had grown an extra head, "Let me try it," Ron said before taking his cart and started to run towards the wall.

Well if Ron was going to make a fool out of himself Harry was not going to stop him. And as expected the cart crashed into the wall and toppled over taking Ron with him. All the people around stopped and looked at the boy strangely who had just run into the wall.

Ron immediately righted his cart and sheepishly walked to where Harry was standing, "Now what mate It's already Eleven?"

Harry ground his teeth again at being called mate by this stupid buffoon, "Now Ron we do just what any sane person would do," Harry snapped at him.

Ron's expression brightened at that. Harry suspected that the red buffoon had taken the completely opposite meaning of his sentence, "Of course Harry we should take Dad's car and fly to Hogwarts. It would be so cool!" Ron said in dreamy state. No wonder thinking about flying the car to Hogwarts.

"Are you stupid Ron," Harry said even though he had no doubt, "Your Dad might get fired for that. We'll just wait here for your mother to return."

"But Harry mate it would be so cool," Ron protested.

But Harry didn't grace that with an answer he just turned away and started waiting for Mrs. Weasley to emerge.

It took almost five minutes but Mrs. Weasley arrived there. She looked surprised at seeing them there, "Are you two alright I would have thought you two might have gone on some adventure," she said while hugging them.

"It's alright Mrs. Weasley I knew you would come back," Harry replied.

Molly Weasley looked at him like he had grown an extra head before shaking her head, "Okay then the entrance has been unlocked, you two can go now. Hogwarts express is waiting. Harry dear stick with Ron he will take good care of you.

Not even bothering to reply Harry just pushed his cart through the entrance and just as Mrs. Weasley said the Hogwarts Express was still there her scarlet engine gleaming.

Harry quickly boarded the train, ignoring Ron's call to come with him to a compartment. He began looking for Ginny and Luna and soon found them in middle of the train. By now the train had already started.

"Hello Ginny, Hello Luna!" Harry said pushing his trunk into the compartment.

"Harry!" Ginny exclaimed before hugging him tightly, "Where were you? We were so worried," Ginny said as she let him go but before he could reply he was engulfed in a hug by Luna.

"Yes Harry where were you?" Luna too said after she had let him go.

"No where. The barrier just sealed itself somehow but thankfully the station staff was able to sort everything out," Harry replied while putting his trunk above. He plopped down in a seat beside Ginny Luna sitting across them.

"I have never heard of the barrier sealing itself," Ginny replied.

"Could it be the work of Dobby?" Luna said, "He was set on not letting you go to Hogwarts."

"I think you are right Luna," Ginny commented, "the barrier sealing itself just before Harry had to go that doesn't sound like a coincidence."

"Mmmm, you are right Ginny, Luna. I just hope he doesn't follow me to Hogwarts," Harry replied with a frown.

…..

Rest of the train ride passed away uneventfully. Draco Malfoy came to visit as expected but had to retreat quickly after being insulted again and again. Soon they had reached Hogsmeade station where they would be riding in horseless carriages to Hogwarts.

Harry and Ginny stopped short as they saw that the Horseless carriages were not actually horseless. Rather they were being pulled by two thin horses like creatures with wings protruding from their back.

"What are those um… things?" Harry asked looking at the creatures.

"Oh these are Thestral Harry," Luna replied in a dreamy manner, "They pull these carriages. They are quite beautiful aren't they," she was nuzzling one of the creatures who looked quite content.

"I don't know about being beautiful," Harry muttered.

"Luna I thought the carriages were supposed to be pulled by magic," Ginny said ignoring Harry's comment.

"Of course not Ginny, that's a common misconception. Just like how many people don't believe that Crumple Horned Snorkacks exist," Luna replied, "Now come on or we would be late for the feast. I have heard that nargles quite like feasts."

Harry and Ginny shook their head at Luna's well Luna's Looniness but well they liked her for that. Nonetheless they climbed into the carriages quickly not wanting to miss any of the delicious feast.

Soon they arrived at the Hogwarts gates where they piled out of the carriage before moving towards the Great Hall. They took their customary seats at the Gryffindor table.

Students were slowly filtering into the Great Hall and soon the Great Hall was filled to the brim. The teachers were already present on the Staff Table. Professor McGonagal came and put down the stool with Sorting Hat down. Soon the sorting of the first years began. After the sorting was done food appeared on the tables. Harry enthusiastically dug into the food, the girls following him albeit with much less enthusiasm.

Harry's enthusiasm soon vanished when he tasted the food. There was something off about it. The taste was still the same but Harry knew that something was wrong. He couldn't describe it but something was different than usual. Something clicked in Harry's mind and he discreetly looked up to the staff table as if only surveying what was happening only to find Dumbledore staring at him intently. He was right Dumbledore had mixed something in his food.

Harry turned towards the girls only to find them looking at him.

"Ginny, Luna, I think Dumbledore spiked my food," Harry muttered underneath his breath.

"He must have charmed your silverware Harry," Luna said calmly, "There's no way he would have charmed the whole food."

"But how do I change it then Dumbledore's watching," Harry whispered furiously.

"You cannot, but that doesn't mean that we your good friends cannot feed you," Ginny said her eyes twinkling.

"Erm Ginny that would be quite embarrassing," Harry said his face already turning red at what the whole school would think seeing him getting fed like that.

"Hush Harry, your health comes first," Luna said to him, "Now open your mouth like a good little boy."

Harry had the distinct impression that Ginny and Luna were enjoying it way too much but it's not like he had any choice. He might as well enjoy being fed by two pretty teens.

"Okay then come on feed me," Harry said resignedly and opening his mouth.

…

The girls had a lot of fun feeding Harry whose face remained red through the whole feasts. Fortunately though halfway through the feast Dumbledore looked away at one point to answer some question of Professor Flitwick and Harry took this as his queue to change his silverware. He had more than enough mortification for the year. That didn't stop the girls from giggling insanely through the whole feast. Sometimes, mind you only sometimes, Harry thought why he had befriended two girls.

….

After an embarrassing start of the term for Harry and a fun start for the girls, the first month had passed away without much incident. Harry and the girls had kept their eyes out for any suspicious activities but there were none other than the usual happenings. They had thrown themselves in their training with a new vigor and were making progress by leaps and bounds. The presence of Room of Requirement had helped quite a lot since they didn't have to move from classrooms to classrooms anymore. Not to mention the training was much more extensive in the room of Requirement. They had a much better grasp of spell casting since they shifted to the room of requirement.

Their Occlumency had also gotten significant better. Being one of the few things that they could actually practice during the summer, all of their free time had passed with reinforcing their mental shield and they were now confident that Dumbledore could be kept out of their mind or rather diverted to a fake memory.

While their free time had passed with training their mental shield, the time that they spent with others or with each other was spent trying to learn legillimency. They knew it was wrong to read other's mind without their permission but really what other options did they have.

Right now they were trudging through the grounds going to meet with Hagrid. The first month had been quite hectic and they didn't have time to visit Hagrid but they were going to remedy that.

Soon they reached Hagrid's hut. The door was open but Hagrid was nowhere to be seen. They could hear someone crying on the back of the hut. Harry, Ginny and Luna shared a significant look before drawing their wand and going towards the back of Hut.

"Hagrid is that you?" Harry called out. In a matter of moment the giant man in question appeared. His eyes puffy with crying.

"What happened Hagrid? Why are you crying?" Ginny asked crying.

Hagrid wiped his eyes before replying, "It's me roosters, someone killed them."

"Roosters?" Harry asked bewildered, "Why would someone kill roosters?"

Instead of replying Hagrid took them to the backyard which was filled with black feathers and blood, lot's blood. Seeing the scene Hagrid started crying once again.

"Come on Hagrid let's get you inside," Luna said soothingly to the big man.

Harry and Ginny grabbed each hand of the giant man before leading him in and sat him down in the chair. Luna moved towards the cupboards and started preparing a cup of tea.

They remained silent till Luna made the tea and poured it in a large cup for Hagrid.

"Here Hagrid drink this, it might help," Luna said softly.

Hagrid looked up before taking the mug from Luna, "Thanks Luna you really are a goo' girl," Hagrid said gratefully.

Luna's cheek turned pink for a moment before she too sat down, "So now we have got dead roosters on our hands," Luna pondered.

"Really though I cannot see why anyone would kill roosters," Harry said completely confused, "They are not even dangerous just annoying."

The three friends just looked at each other. For once all three of them were stumped at a question.

…..

Another month passed in the whirlwind of classes and the newly started Quidditch practices. Wood had taken his fanaticism to a new level. After getting the Quidditch cup he was determined to protect it at any cost. He was already working out different strategies to use the five chasers to their best potential. While Ginny and Luna were good Alicia, Angelina and Katie were not any less either. Now getting two brilliant substitutes Wood had staked try out for other reserve position but was bitterly disappointed with the performance.

But it didn't stop him from working his current team ragged. At least the weather was good enough for now. Harry and the girls dreaded when it would start raining.

Besides Quidditch, their studies were going pretty good. They had quickly resumed their position at the top of the classes much to the chagrin of the Ravenclaws, although the teachers were really happy about their performance except for one.

Snape also had resumed being his usual snide self. Harry had until now three shattered vials that somehow dropped from his hand when he was going to submit them. Not to mention several attempts at trying to sabotage his potions. Snape truly was getting desperate at trying to show him up.

Snape was not the only thing that was bothering the group though. The mystery of who killed the roosters was still on their mind and they were nowhere near in figuring out who did it.

So it was with heavy heart that Harry and girls made their way to the Great Hall for the Halloween feast, the mysterious rooster killer weighing on their mind. As they were passing through a deserted hall Harry suddenly stopped.

"What's the matter Harry?" Ginny asked confused at why Harry suddenly stopped.

"Shh I can hear something," Harry said quietly. Ginny and Luna tried to focus on what Harry could be hearing but no matter how hard they tried they couldn't hear anything.

"Come on it's moving," Harry said before sprinting in the opposite direction to the Great Hall. Ginny and Luna shared a look before following Harry.

Harry led them through several corridors before they arrived at the second floor bathroom. Harry started looking around but the voice was gone.

"It's gone now, I can't hear it anymore," Harry said desperately, "It had to be the rooster killer. It was saying things like kill rip them apart."

"I think you are right Harry," Luna said. She was looking at the opposite direction.

Ginny and Harry turned to look at what happened but they froze in shock when they saw Mrs. Norris lying there and a message in what looked like blood written there.

"_The Chamber of Secrets had been opened… Enemies of the heir beware."_

The message was pretty simple but it still sent a chill down their spine, "We need to tell Professor McGonagal," all three said simultaneously.

Suddenly they heard footsteps approaching. Sharing a quick glance Harry took out his cloak that he took everywhere with him. Soon the footsteps had reached there. It looked like Professor Dumbledore and Professor McGonagal were arguing.

"I am telling you Minerva, Severus is a perfectly fine teacher. I see no reasons to replace him," Dumbledore said calmly.

"But Albus I have… Oh My," Professor McGonagal clapped a hand on her mouth when she saw the scene before her.

The twinkle in Dumbledore's eyes increased for a moment before it returned to normal. He quickky made his way towards the corpse of Mrs. Norris before waving his wand in a complex pattern.

"Thankfully Minerva, Mrs. Norris is alive," Professor Dumbledore said turning towards professor McGonagal, the twinkle in his eyes now dimmed.

"Thank Merlin, but what could have caused this," Professor McGonagal asked.

"I have no idea," Dumbledore replied, "I'll look into it but first we need to get Mrs. Norris to Hospital Wing and also we need to inform Mr. Filch. No doubt he would be devastated."

Harry, Ginny and Luna watched the two professors made their way out before taking off the cloak. With mutual agreement they made their way to Room of Requirement to discuss this latest development.

After reaching the room of Requirement they quickly sat down in the sofas provided by the room.

"I am pretty sure it was the rooster killer," Harry said beginning the conversation.

"Maybe but Mrs. Norris isn't exactly popular among the students," Ginny commented.

"But what about that Heir of the Slytherin thing?" Luna asked.

"What did he mean by heir of Slytherin?" Harry asked with a frown.

"It is said that the term Blood supremacy was first coined by Salazar Slytherin. Rumors state that Slytherin was completely opposed to teaching muggleborns here at Hogwarts. Due to his conflicts with the other founders he left Hogwarts but he left a beast in the hidden chamber which is waiting for the heir to come and complete the work of Salazar Slytherin," Ginny explained.

"Mm, looks like another blood purist is on the rise," Harry asked.

"It's a new development so he arrived this year," Ginny said.

"Or maybe he discovered this chamber of secrets just now," Luna suggested.

"You know I would have imagined that someone like Voldemort is the heir of Slytherin considering how he spouted off about blood purity and all that," Harry commented.

"I agree Harry," Ginny said, "Voldemort just sound right down that type of lane."

"I don't know though," Luna said thoughtfully, "he was just here last year; I would think he would have opened the chamber of secrets last year besides I think he is more busy with trying to get a body instead of terrorizing the people."

"What about Malfoy?" Ginny said, "His father is rumored to be one of the Voldemort's death eaters."

"Yes he could be," Harry said thoughtfully, "Not the heir of Slytherin but someone who would open the chamber of secrets."

"Don't you think that it's odd that Malfoy hasn't gloated about it till now. He should be dropping hints about how he is working for the greater cause." Luna replied.

"Still it would be a good idea to keep an eye on him," Harry said, "I bet this is the trouble that Dobby was talking about."

"Well we can talk about it later right now I am hungry," Ginny declared and Harry's stomach growled as if in agreement.

"But feast is over do you think the room will provide us with food," Harry mused.

As if to answer a door appeared with a pear on it. A slip was attached to the door knob.

Harry stood up and removed the slip before reading it out aloud, "Tickle the pear?" Harry looked at the girls before shrugging, "Oh well," he tickled the pear which gave a giggle before opening. Right in front of them were hundreds of Dobby like creatures running here and there and preparing food.

Harry and the girls stepped into the room too shocked to speak.

"Wow, I never knew that Hogwarts had such a brilliant kitchen," Harry said in amazement. It looked like an exact replica of Great Hall.

A house elf spotted them before moving towards them, "How may we helps you sir and madams," the elf said bowing deeply.

"We would like some food if it's not a bother," Harry asked politely.

"Of course young master it is not a bother," the elf replied before motioning to others elves, "It's really rare for young masters to come down here, it's an honour serving you three," the elf said before putting food on the table that was just set up by the elves.

Harry, Ginny and Luna sat down and dug into the food with gusto. It was as delicious as the usual food.

"If young masters and mistresses has any request please let us elves know," the same elf said before bowing deeply and moving on to do his work even then they were well attended as an elf was always nearby to take a dirty plate away or to pour them more juice. All in all it was one of the most enjoyable meal for the three.

"I am always coming to eat here," Harry declared rubbing his hand over his overstuffed stomach.

"Yes, so much better than eating in a crowd full of room," Luna agreed.

"Dumbledore might become suspicious," Ginny said with a frown.

"We can keep up the appearances besides I think it would hardly matter to him where I eat," Harry said in an off handed manner.

It was true after the first night none of his meals were spiked at least Harry didn't think so. Besides he didn't have any drop in his performance nor did he find himself suddenly attracted to some random girl.

"Still better be safe than sorry," Luna said.

"Okay then let's go we still have training to do remember," Harry said before turning towards the elf clearing the table, "Thanks for the meal we might come here to eat more if you don't mind."

The young elf blushed before replying, "Of course not master and mistresses we is always ready to feed you."

They returned to the door from where they came. Thankfully it was still connected to the room of Requirement. The three readied themselves as the room morphed to give them a training place.

...

The rumour of Mrs. Norris petrification spread like wild fire through the whole castle even though there were no students present at the site. Some of the students were happy at finally getting rid of the cat but Dumbledore announced that the mandrake plants that they were being taught in herbology would be ready by the end of year and Mrs. Norris would be back on her feet.

Most of the people though were scared. No one knew who heir of Slytherin was and it was pretty clear that the next victim would be a student. The whole Hogwarts was immersed in a deep sense of fear.

And amongst it all was the ridiculous figure of Lockhart with his ridiculous claims. When Dumbledore had announced about the Mrs. Norris petrification he had stood up and declared that he would be capturing the culprit soon. But they had remained just that. Claims. The fool couldn't even teach a proper charm for banishing the pixies instead he had turned Parvati into a jarvey.

The heir was not the only thing on Harry, Ginny and Luna's mind. Their first match of the Quidditch cup was coming and as expected it was against Slytherin. Harry, Ginny and Luna were confident though that they could stage a victory for Gryffindor along with rest of their team. Besides this time the victory would be a little bit personal too as Draco Malfoy had become the seeker for the Slytherin team. Apparently Lucius Malfoy had donated seven Nimbus 2001 to the Slytherin team. Harry couldn't wait to show one up to the Malfoy heir

On the day of match Harry, Ginny and Luna entered the Great Hall to find the whole team as always there. Most of them looking green and not really eating anything. After half an hour wood stood up and motioned for the team to follow him.

After reaching the Gryffindor locker's room they sat there in silence waiting for the starting time of the match and listening to the stadium getting filled. Just before the match Wood stood up to give his usual pre-match pep talk.

"Ladies and Gentlemen," Wood started, "last time the Slytherins went against us they were beaten soundly and more than half of the school out there had come here expecting to see a replay of that match, So what do you lot say? Let's not disappoint them shall we," Wood said with a grim expression.

"Yes," the team chorused.

"What I can't hear you," Wood replied.

"YES," this time the roar was deafening.

"WELL THEN LET'S GET OUT THERE AND THRASH THOSE FLANKING SLYTHERINS," Wood yelled before mounting his broom and entering the pitch. Rest of the team soon followed charged up after that speech from Wood. As always Lee Jordan was acting as commentator with Professor McGonagal as mediator.

Wood and Flint shook each other's hand but it looked more like they were trying to break each other's hand. Madam Hooch came up to them and told them sternly that she wanted a clean game. Soon Quaffle was released and Harry tuned out whatever was happening below him. Ginny and Luna were not in the starting line up so he had no reason to watch the game. As usual he started flying lazily in a circle around the pitch trying to find the snitch.

Half an hour had passed and Gryffindors were leading the game with 40-20. During the half an hour Harry had picked an annoying tag along. It seemed Malfoy had picked the strategy of tailing Harry and then using the superior speed of Nimbus 2001 to get to the snitch first. Not a bad plan when one doesn't have any skill whatsoever himself but Harry was going to use the plan against him.

Meanwhile Ginny and Luna were already substituted for Angelina and Alicia not to mention Ginny had already scored one goal increasing Gryffindor lead to 50-20 but it looked liked the Slytherin chasers not to mention beaters were focusing on just Ginny. Ginny taking advantage of the their attention on her just threw the ball towards Luna who deftly caught it before scoring behind the keeper which was too busy keeping his attention at Ginny to notice the ball coming furthering Gryffindor lead by 60-20 in a matter of minutes. Wood really looked pleased with his team.

On the other hand Harry was slowly increasing the speed of his broom consequently forcing Malfoy to increasing his speed too. Harry continued this till he was only a blur at the pitch and Malfoy following him at almost the same speed. Harry went around the pitch like this a few times making sure that Malfoy was following him blindly before gradually altering his course in a way that Malfoy wouldn't notice, not that he could notice many things anyway, Harry looked behind once to ensure that Malfoy was almost at his tail before looking ahead. His target was right in front of him. Just moments before Harry himself would have hit the target he pulled his broom in a steep dive. Malfoy, though, was not lucky. His speed was too much and he hit his shoulder on the Slytherin hoops, shaking it just in time to let the quaffle go through that the keeper had barely deflected, before spiralling out of control and crashing at the ground. Unfortunately, the fall was not lethal. Even then it was sure that Malfoy wouldn't be getting back into the match anytime soon.

Harry looked down at the body of Draco Malfoy lying in a twisted manner with a satisfied expression before turning to resume finding the snitch albeit a bit lazily since there was no opposing seeker now and Ginny and Luna would make sure that Slytherin would be defeated in a humiliated manner.

Marcus Flint though it looked like had other ideas as he called for substitution for the seeker. Harry only shook his head. The bigheaded buffoon didn't even know that keeper and the seeker couldn't be replaced during a match even in case of an injury. Flint did look thunderous when Madam Hooch told him so. Any hope of Slytherin winning the match, if there was any, was lost.

Harry just flew lazily as he watched Ginny and Luna score goals and goals. He didn't even have any trouble from Slytherin beaters either. They were just too busy trying to shoot down the girls to pay any attention to him. During the next half an hour Ginny, Luna and Alicia managed to take the score up to 150-20. It was true better brooms don't make you a better flyer.

This time it was Luna and Alicia's turn to be substituted by Angelina and Katie. The match continued this way and during the total three hours in which the match lasted Harry spotted the snitch multiple times but he decided to ignore it in favour of an absolute win over Slytherins. The score had risen up to 440-30 and Slytherin were not even offering resistance anymore. Not to mention the Slytherin stand had become virtually empty. The match was no longer fun, so Harry decided to end it. It looked like even the snitch had gotten tired of hide and seek as it was hovering in the same place as Harry saw it last time. Harry just lazily flew towards the snitch and grabbed it. Even though Gryffindor had won long before still the cheer was deafening when Harry caught the snitch. The final score was 590-30. A complete and utter victory over Slytherins.

Harry lowered himself down to the ground only to be engulfed in a team hug. Fred and George slapped him on the back while winking at him and Oliver just looked mad with happiness. Fred and George grabbed Harry and hoisted him up on their shoulder before moving towards Gryffindor Tower to celebrate their brilliant victory.

...

"Who do you think would be teaching the duelling club?" Harry asked the girls as they moved towards Great Hall. The celebration after defeating the Slytherins had lasted a whole week after it was replaced by the excitement of Duelling club that was recently announced. Almost the whole school was anticipating the upcoming Duelling club.

"I think Professor McGonagal or Professor Flitwick. Their duel last year was brilliant," Ginny said excitedly.

Harry, Ginny and Luna entered the Great Hall before simultaneously groaning or at least Harry and Ginny groaned, Luna well, Luna was Luna. The reason of their groaning was standing on the newly erected stage in the middle of the great hall surrounded by throes of students, his extremely wide smile visible from miles away.

"Really Lockhart?" Harry asked frustrated. He really was looking forwards to learning some moves from Professor Flitwick or Professor McGonagal or at least see them in action even a little bit.

"Not only Professor Lockhart but Professor Snape is there too. How lovely!" Luna said dreamily.

"Lovely? That's one word I would never associate with those two," Harry muttered.

"Cheer up Harry, maybe Snape would kill him," Ginny said. Lockhart was one thing that Harry and Snape had same views no matter how disturbing that sounds. Both despised Lockhart to no end.

Harry, Ginny and Luna not only despised Lockhart for his lack of teaching skill but also how he used his fame to manipulate other people. They were pretty sure that he was a fraud. How many famed heroes , vanquisher of dark creatures couldn't even know a simple charm to subdue pixies. But sadly they had no clue or proof of his falsifications. All of his books were excellently written. There was not even a single contradiction among them. They had to admit, albeit grudgingly, that Lockhart at least was smart enough to cover up his tracks.

"Well since we are already here let's see how Snape makes an example out of Lockhart," Harry said grinning. He could forget his school rivalry with the hated potions professor for a few seconds only for the greater good.

"Can everyone hear me?" Lockhart's voice boomed through the great hall instantly silencing the whole hall. It looked like almost the whole school had turned up.

"Excellent then, Shall we get started?"Lockhart said and without waiting for an answer continued, "Professor Snape here," he motioned towards Snape standing towards a side who sneered contemptuously, "had kindly agreed to help assist me in teaching you some basic defences."

"The spell that I am teaching you today is called the Disarming charm," Lockhart smile hadn't faded in the least, "The incantation is Expelliarmus with a circular motion and jab in the end. I want all of you to try the wand movement," Lockhart waited till everyone had done the wand movement before continuing, "Now Professor Snape and I will have a mock duel to demonstrate the spell. Now students don't worry you will still have your potions professor at the end," the whole hall laughed at Lockhart's attempted joke. Harry and the girls just grinned. They had no doubt Snape would be in one piece by the end. It was Lockhart who doesn't look so lucky.

Snape's sneer had turned into a feral smile by the time he took his position. Lockhart's chances of leaving the duelling arena alive looked bleaker by the second.

"Okay then students before a duel we first bow to each other," Lockhart said with an exaggerated bow. Snape just dipped his head a little.

"Okay then we shall at Three... Two... One... Now,"

"Expelliarmus," Snape said even before Lockhart had a chance to lift his wand. Harry snickered as he watched Gilderoy glide through the air and fell down on his backside. Really hard. It took him five minutes before he could stand up again.

"I expect all of you had gotten that demonstration right," Lockhart tried to hide the pain in his voice but failed miserably.

"Okay then why don't all of you pair up and start practicing the spell that Professor Snape demonstrated," Lockhart said in an obviously fake cheerful voice.

"I disagree Gilderoy," Snape drawled from behind, "I believe that first we should have a demonstration by students and I just have the perfect students for the job."

Lockhart looked at Snape for a moment before complying, "Okay Professor call up the students."

"Certainly Gilderoy," Snape said before his eyes bored into Harry, "Potter. On the stage Now!"

Harry just shrugged his shoulder and moved towards the duelling stand. He already suspected that his name would come up when Snape suggested a duel between two students.

Snape now looked in the opposite direction before nodding, "Malfoy."

Draco made his way up the stand arrogantly and sneering at Harry. Harry couldn't wait to wipe that sneer off from Malfoy's face.

"Okay then bow to each other," Lockhart said. Harry bowed his head but before he had even lifted his head he could see a curse coming towards him. He had suspected something on this sort. After all when did Malfoy play by the rules? He just side stepped the curse before retaliating with his own, "Rictusempra,"

The stinging hex hit Malfoy hard. Harry had deliberately used a little more power than necessary and now Malfoy was rolling on his backside.

Snape moved forward furiously and yanked the blonde boy up by his hand before whispering in his ears. Malfoy's smirk widened as he took his stance. Harry waited for the blonde boy to say his next spell.

"Serpensortia," Malfoy yelled. Harry watched fascinated as a snake came out of Malfoy's wand. Why would Malfoy summon a snake of all things against him?

"Don't worry Potter, I'll take care of it," Snape said. He obviously was enjoying the position that he put Harry in.

Harry looked towards Snape who was still standing in his position giving no indication moving anytime soon. It was his idea to summon snake. Why a snake of all things. He knew that Snake was the emblem of Slytherin. Harry's eyes widened. Could it be that Snape was somehow trying to say that he was the heir of Slytherin? Maybe he wanted Harry to talk to the snake? Did he know that Harry could talk to snakes?

Harry just shrugged his shoulder. He wasn't going to play in Snape's hand. It was time to try the new spell that Lockhart or rather Snape had taught.

"Expelliarmus," Harry said aiming his wand at the snake. Unfortunately or rather fortunately the snake was directly in front of a smirking Malfoy and Harry had used enough force to knock a man of his feet. As a result the snake travelled through the air in the blink of an eye before colliding with Malfoy. With Lightning fast reflexes, the snake wrapped itself around Malfoy even before he had chance to comprehend what was going on.

Malfoy's eyes widened as he saw a large snake hissing right in front of his face before he gave a very girlish scream and fell on his backside.

"AHHH, Help me. Get this snake off my face. Please someone help me" Malfoy continued to scream much to the amusement of the crowd present.

Snape glared at Harry for a second before he was distracted by the sound of his student screaming. He waved his wand and vanished the snake before yanking Malfoy up and dragging him through the hall.

"Well, I guess that's it for today," Lockhart said a bit unsurely before he composed himself, "Alright students, don't forget to practice the spell. Now go back to your room before it's too late. I cannot very well be in every place at the same time."

The students nodded before they started making their way to their dorms obviously chatting about how Malfoy made a fool out of himself.

Harry quickly made his way towards a grinning Ginny and Luna who were standing there waiting for him.

"Good job Harry," Ginny said grinning.

"Thanks," Harry replied with a grin of his own before becoming serious, "come on I have got something to ask of you two."

Ginny and Luna shared a look before nodding, "Come on Harry let's go," said Ginny before the three friends quickly but discreetly made their way to the seventh floor and into the room of requirement.

"So Harry what did you want to ask us?" Ginny said once they were in the safe confinement of the Room of Requirement.

"Do you know whether Salazar Slytherin could talk to snakes?" Harry asked.

"Yes Harry. He was the first person ever recorded with this abiliy," Ginny replied, "Why did you ask this?"

"Because," Harry sighed, "I can talk to snakes too."

"What?" Ginny exclaimed, "You are parselmouth?"

"Parselmouth?" Harry asked confused.

"It is the person who can talk to snakes Harry," Luna replied.

"Oh! Well I think that Snape somehow knew about this and that's why he asked Malfoy to conjure the snake. I think he wanted to tell the students that I am the heir" Harry said.

"Mm that does make sense, not to mention parseltongue is considered a dark ability and the whole school would have shunned you," Luna commented.

"Why is Parseltongue considered dark ability?" Harry asked.

"Because Harry," Ginny replied, "Almost all the known parselmouths were dark wizards. Not to mention it is said that someone from only Slytherin's Lineage could speak Parseltongue."

"So I am from Slytherin's Lineage?" Harry asked.

"Maybe," Luna shrugged, "Not like it matters."

"Yes Luna, It doesn't matter besides someone else is opening the chamber and he claims to be the heir. So I don't think I am from Slytherin Lineage," Harry replied.

"Okay then, since it's settled let's go back to our dorms and pick our books. We still have some homework to do," Ginny suggested.

The other two nodded before moving out of the room of requirement. It was not that late so they didn't feel the need to use the shortcut. Harry, Ginny and Luna made their way towards Gryffindor common room happily bickering among each other but as they were passing through the fifth floor their happiness vanished. There, lying right in front of them was a mangled corpse of student. It was so distorted that they couldn't even see the face of the poor student. The heir of the Slytherin had started his assault.

….


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N: Hello my dear faithful readers, it's that time again when I try to delay you from reading the next chapter with my rambling. Why you ask? Because I am evil like that. Honestly I want to finish off second chapter as soon as I can so that we can move on to third year, that's where my original story will start (Between us I haven't even started it yet) though I'll keep the major event sames like triwizard tournament. Or I might change it, who knows? I am a creature of instinct. Beside I love to annoy you people. To a limit that is. Don't want you people running off now do I? With that pretty long muttering, I shall give way now to the next chapter. Without further ado ladies and gentlemen i present to you...**

Chapter 10

Harry, Ginny and Luna were sitting in the Room of Requirement the next day. After they had found the dead body of the student they had wasted no time in informing Professor McGonagall. Harry and Luna had stood guard while Ginny went and brought Professor McGonagall. Professor McGonagall had gone pale at seeing the mangled corpse and immediately sent for Professor Dumbledore who had arrived there in no time flat. Dumbledore's eyes had twinkled briefly when he saw the three students standing before turning to the bloody body. He had declared him dead as soon as he waved his wand over him. It was followed by an intense interrogation session in Dumbledore's office. The three friends were glad that their Occlumency shields were now far enough to block Dumbledore's penetration. Next day the death of the unfortunate student was announced to the whole student body and only then did they come to know that the student who died was Colin Creevey.

Colin Creevey was a first year Gryffindor. He was a cheery and exuberant person very much in awe of Harry. He did make Harry quite uncomfortable but he was not a bad person at all.

"Did you notice that odd twinkle? It looks like Dumbledore may know who this heir is," Harry observed.

"And even then he is not doing anything despite having a student killed," Ginny questioned.

"Well that's who Dumbledore is," Luna said calmly, "That just gives us even more of a reason to us so we could stop him from ruining anymore lives just like yours."

"Of course Luna," Harry said, "Still it enrages me to think how less he thinks of his own students."

"You shouldn't be bothered by what Dumbledore is doing Harry," Ginny advised, "Rather we should be focusing our strengths on finding this heir whoever he is."

"You know there was one thing interesting about the body," Luna remarked.

"What's that Luna," Harry asked curiously.

"The way the body was mangled it didn't look like some curses did it rather it looks like some big animal tried to rip him into shreds," Luna observed.

"Could it be the beast of the chamber," Ginny said.

"More than likely," Harry remarked.

"So not only we have an insane killer on our hand but also a beast that can easily kill a person," Luna said calmly.

"So it would be in our best interest to catch this heir as soon as possible," Harry stated.

"True Harry but how will we capture him?" Ginny asked, "It's not like he had left any clue for us to follow. It's almost like he isn't even alive. It looks like the work of a professional."

"So we just need to capture him in the act," Harry suggested.

"Err Harry? You do know what you are suggesting right?" Ginny asked.

"Of course Ginny, I am suggesting that we use our cloaks to patrol the Hallways whenever we have a chance so that we can be there to capture him when he strikes again," Harry said grinning.

"But Harry he has a powerful beast with him and for all intent and purposes it could be a magical creature," Ginny argued.

"But it couldn't be too big right, I mean he is hiding it somewhere in Hogwarts," Harry said.

"Not only that but it is going to cut into our training time," Luna said.

Harry frowned at that. He really couldn't afford to be lax in this department. The training was way too important but they needed to catch the heir too.

"So how about this that we look out for the heir from 9 p.m. to 12. How does that sound?"" Harry asked.

"Mm three hours? We would be really lucky to catch the heir," Luna said.

"Okay then the idea is out of the window," Harry said sighing. He really liked the idea but there were just too many difficulties with it, "What should we do then."

"We try to find who the heir is," Ginny declared.

...

And that's what they did. Now their time was not only spent training but also in library trying to figure out who the heir would be. Right now the group was sitting in a table in Hogwarts library with every single book that even mentioned Slytherin around them. Most of these books though were full of rubbish and very few facts.

"Hey girls, listen to this," Harry said snorting, "according to this author Salazar Slytherin is still alive and he is manipulating the ministry from the shadows. Seriously? Is that even possible?" Harry shook his head.

"Well people publish all kind of rubbish you know," Ginny said with a sigh.

"I knew that there was very little information available on Salazar Slytherin but seriously it's almost like there is nothing known about him. All these books say are that he and other three founders were good friends but they disagreed on the teaching of muggleborns so Salazar left claiming that his heir would fulfil his job." Luna said.

"Still Hogwarts library is our best bet," Harry said shaking his head.

"Actually Harry no," Ginny said slowly.

"What do you mean Ginny?" Harry asked confused but it looks like Luna had caught what Ginny was thinking.

"Really Harry are you so dumb?" Ginny deadpanned.

"Hey I am not dumb, just because I didn't get the same idea as you doesn't mean I am not smart," Harry protested.

"Yes Harry it does," Ginny said smugly.

"Are you going to tell me or not?" Harry said exasperatedly.

"Okay Harry alright, there is this little room that we know of," Ginny began only to be interrupted by Harry.

"The Room of Requirement," Harry said excitedly before groaning, "Why didn't I think of that?"

"Because Harry you are dumb," Ginny replied with a superior expression before breaking down in giggle only to receive a glare from Madame Pince.

"What are we still doing here then?" Harry asked with a glare, "Come on let's go," Harry said before getting up with an armful of books to take them to their places. Ginny and Luna too got up to help Harry.

...

"REDUCTO," Harry shouted as the man in front of him shredded into pieces. He immediately ducked behind his hiding place as three more curses flew towards him. He looked towards where Ginny and Luna were hiding before motioning them to attack at once.

Right now Harry and the girls were in the room of Requirement doing simulation training. Luna had come up with the idea of using real battle simulation as a way of training and Harry had to admit that it was a pretty good idea.

As for the idea of using Room of Requirement to trace the lineage of Salazar Slytherin it actually worked but the line had ended at someone name Tom Marvolo Riddle son of Tom Riddle and Merope Gaunt. Who this Riddle was, they had no idea but they intended to find out.

"STUPEFY," the three shouted simultaneously incapacitating the three men in front of them before cautiously moving forward. Right now Room of Requirement resembled a ruined city destroyed by the death eaters with Harry, Ginny and Luna the only survivors fighting against the death eater. They have been stuck in the same scenario for the last two weeks but still had to clear it.

The three turned the corner only to be confronted by seven death eaters who immediately started firing curses at them.

"Shit," Harry exclaimed before diving for cover, the girls doing the same.

"REDUCTO," Ginny shouted aiming the curse at their feet effectively unbalancing them. Harry and Luna took advantage of the moment shot a blasting hex and a fire spell at them taking out all the opponents between them. But before they could move forward, they heard curses from behind and even before they could turn they fell to the ground and the scene faded revealing the room of requirement.

"We failed again," Harry groaned before getting up and sitting on the sofa.

"We shouldn't have stunned those targets," Luna speculated.

"Yes," Ginny agreed, "Stunners are way too unreliable. The opponent could wake up any moment and besides they are mostly useless in large scale battles when you are fighting multiple opponents."

"Complete decapitation of the opponent is necessary," Harry frowned, "even if we are stunning the opponents we should make sure they cannot fight any more at least.

"Well I think that's enough for today," Ginny declared, "Who's up for an afternoon snack, I am feeling famished after that simulation."

Harry and Luna nodded before they made their way to the door to the kitchen that appeared, ready to enjoy the generous hospitality of the house elves.

...

"Hello Hagrid," The three chorused as they made their way in the Hagrid's hut and in front of the welcome fire

"O it's you three! Come in! Come in!" Hagrid said beaming at them.

The three shook off their heavy cloaks and sat in front of the fire.

"Ye' three sit here I'll make some tea fer ye'"," Hagrid said already putting the kettle on the fire. The three sat happily in the chair chattering till the tea came.

"So how's the school goin'?" Hagrid asked while pouring the tea.

"It's going good Hagrid," Harry replied while taking a sip of tea, relishing the heat as it washed down his throat.

"Well except for the chamber of the Secret part," Luna remarked.

Hagrid staggered a little bit at hearing about the chamber almost spilling Ginny's tea making the three students suspicious instantly.

"Hagrid do you know something about the chamber?" Ginny asked suspiciously.

"Me? Why would ye even think' that. I don' know anythin' abou' the chamber," Hagrid answered obviously still shaken.

"Come on Hagrid, you know you can trust us right," Harry encouraged the giant man.

Alrigh' but don' tell anyone that I told ye this okay," Hagrid finally relented.

All three eagerly nodded, excited to hear what Hagrid can tell them about the chamber.

Hagrid took a long sip of the tea from his bucket shaped mug before starting with the story.

"When I was a studen' 'ere in my fifth 'ear, the chamber was opened. I 'ad a pet then, an acromantula named Aragog. A beautiful one he was…."

"Wait Hagrid you had a pet acromantula?" Ginny asked shocked.

"Acromantula what's that?" Harry asked momentarily distracted from the story.

"They are giant spiders Harry, Nargles are not very fond of them as they tend to get entangled in their webs," Luna answered.

"I know that they aren't allowed in 'ogwarts bu' I couldn' 'ave lef' 'im, he woul' ave died from starvation," Hagrid protested.

"It's alright Hagrid what happened next," Harry said shaking his head.

"Student started gettin' attacked, people were very afraid and finally poor myrtle died, it was decided that schoo' woul' be shut down, then the Slytherin prefect riddle got suspicious o' me and followe' me to Aragog. After seein' Aragog he reported me to the teacher and I was arrested."

"Arrested?" Ginny said appalled, "How could they do that to you? Everyone knows you won't hurt even a fly."

"Thanks Ginny, Bu' at that time ministry was desperate to catch someone. Dumbledore bless his sou' he got me out and saved me," Hagrid finished his tale with another long swig.

On the other hand Harry's attention was caught by something else.

"Who was this riddle?" Harry asked.

"Tom riddle, 'e was the prefect back then. Never liked 'im. Dumbledore use' to keep a close eye on him till 'e vanished afte' graduation. Always reckoned that a smart guy like 'im woul' work at pretty high place in ministry."

"Tom riddle you say," Harry repeated sharing a significant glance with the other two. They had finally found a clue to the last heir of the Slytherin.

…

November soon gave way to December and chill rose in the air. Not just due to increase in cold but also due to the fear present in the air. A student had already died and no one knew who the heir would target next. All that the teachers could accomplish was stricter curfew and advising the students to always travel in packs. Harry, Ginny and Luna even with their best efforts could not discover anything else about Tom Riddle. All that they knew about him was that he was a prefect and a Head boy in Hogwarts but after that he vanished into thin air. No one knew what happened to him.

But right now the thing on the mind of the gang was the upcoming Christmas holidays. Most likely the castle would be completely deserted in wake of the ongoing attacks. Harry, Ginny and Luna were eagerly anticipating a whole castle to themselves. Ginny was not going because her parents were going to attend some conference in New York leaving the Weasley sibling in Hogwarts. Luna on the other hand had decided to spend the Christmas with her friends instead of with her father.

"We still are no closer to discovering who the heir is or what is his beast?" Ginny exclaimed. They were just returning from their training in the room of the requirement.

"Yes, even the Riddle lead was of not much use," Luna agreed.

"How could a student fifty years ago could open the chamber now?" Harry wondered aloud.

"The only way is if he was a teacher and the only teachers who are that old are Flitwick, McGonagall and Binns," Ginny said.

"And it couldn't be McGonagall or Flitwick. We can safely trust those two and I somehow doubt a ghost is doing all this," Luna replied.

Harry was just about to reply back when he was startled. The voice was back.

"Ginny, Luna, it's that voice again," Harry said frantically.

Ginny and Luna both whirled around to face Harry. Both had gotten a little bit ahead of Harry since he had stopped after hearing the voice.

"What? Where?" Ginny asked in a forceful whisper.

Harry appeared to concentrate for a moment before his eyes lit up.

"Come on, it's moving down this corridor," Harry replied before dashing off after the voice. Ginny and Luna too hot on his heels.

After several twist and turn and merlin knows how much time they finally came across two bodies lying down on the cold floor. Harry immediately spied something moving down the corridor. He wasted no time in reacting.

"Reducto," he shouted.

A shriek was heard before whatever it was managed to get away.

Harry swore under his breath before turning to face the girls who were tending to the bodies. Only now did he register that it was Fred and George.

"Oh Shit," Harry cursed again.

"No need to worry Harry," Luna stated calmly, "We managed to rescue them before anything serious happened. They are just stunned."

Ginny just mutely nodded before waving her wand over her two brothers, "Ennervate."

The twins groggily sat up before noticing the three younger students."

"Blimey Harry, Luna what are you two doing here?" Ginny's obvious exclusion didn't go unnoticed by the other two but they decided to let it slide for now.

"We were just passing by when we noticed you two lying on the ground and someone running. We tried to chase him but he was gone by the time we came here," Harry explained.

Fred and George paled at hearing that.

"Now we remember," one of them said, "it was the heir," a sharp intake of breath was heard from the side, obviously from Ginny. A somewhat unfamiliar emotion came on the twins face but before Harry could comment on it, it was gone.

"He was saying something about settling his debt over the years before he attacked us," the twins once again continued, " we tried to fight him but he was just too strong."

"Well I for one am glad that you two are alright," suddenly Ginny spoke. Harry though he heard a lilt in her voice, "I trust you two can find your way to the infirmary. We'll inform Professor McGonagall of this event. Come on Harry, Luna," With that she started walking toward the office.

Harry and Luna shared a look. Harry just shrugged his shoulders and was just about to follow Ginny along with Luna when a voice rang out behind them.

"Ginny," it was one of the twins. Ginny stopped where she was but didn't turn around.

"Can we talk to you for a bit….alone," the voice nervously continued. By then Harry and Luna had reached Ginny. Hearing that she went stiff.

Harry placed a comforting hand on her shoulder, "You don't have to if you don't want to," Harry whispered in her ears.

Luna too placed her hand on the other shoulder, "Or if you want we can be there with you, after all we are best friends."

Ginny took a big breath before replying, her whole body shook before she covered their hands with hers, "It's alright. They are just twins," she gave a forced smile, "Besides you two need to inform Professor McGonagall. I'll listen to them till then."

Harry nodded seriously, "If you say so," he turned towards Luna, "Come on Luna let's go."

….

The twins looked on as the body of their sister shook for a moment. It trembled their hearts like nothing else knowing that their sister, their little sister would hesitate to talk to them alone like that. And why wouldn't she? Honestly they were amazed that she didn't hated their guts by now. Hearing the tilt in her voice over her concern for them had surprised them and had given them a new hope. They had thought that they lost their sister to their foolishness a long time ago. That's why when an opportunity arose, a new hope shined in front of them to gain their beloved sister back, they had desperately clawed at it.

From as back as they could remember, Ginny was always belittled and berated, always looked down upon in favour of her other twin, Ron. The twins always knew in their hearts that it was wrong. There was always that part in their heart that would scream every time when she was berated, every time her mother would scold her. But they were young back then and didn't want to face the wrath of their mother. They didn't want to be singled out like her. So they did what any one would do, they suppressed that part of their heart and turned a blind eye towards her treatment. They started ignoring her and soon she faded into background, no longer an entity that they cared for or rather acknowledge the existence of.

After that they started attending Hogwarts and in no time at all whole Hogwarts knew them as the infamous twins, the prankster extraordinaire. They started revelling in the glory and forgot about her even more.

But then she came to Hogwarts. At first they ignored her like they used to at their home but it soon became apparent that they couldn't do it. Whenever they would see her laughing or even smiling with her friends, something would shake their hearts but they would shake that feeling off writing it off as a figment of their imagination.

Soon she even joined the Quidditch team and when she flew circles around them all along with her friends they were as much surprised as the other team members. And when the others had asked that why had they never told them about their sister when they would boast about any story remotely exhilarating relating to their sibling to everyone. They had no answer to that. It was then that they first realized what a horrible thing they have done. They have abandoned their sister when she needed them most.

But that was not all. They were twins. They prided themselves in their ability to make anyone laugh. When they would regale their story to the Gryffindor common room, the whole room would be rolling on their back except for one girl, who would remain sitting where she was as stoic as ever not a single hint of amusement on her face. This more than anything made the point sink. They had truly lost their sister.

When Charlie had come to visit them at Hogwarts they had noticed his interaction with their sister. They had noticed how he would dote over her and how she was always smiling with him. At that point they had questioned themselves. Why? Why doesn't she smile with them? Why would she not even look at them like them? Why did they chose to abandon her? Even fully knowing the answer to that question they couldn't forgive themselves. Whatever the reason it certainly was not enough to break the heart of their little sister like that. They believed they had committed a crime so great for which there was no forgiveness and for that, for that they could only watch her from afar as she spent some happy moments with her friends and despairing that they would never be a part of their little sister life.

And today when she shook because of the possibility of them losing their life. They couldn't believe themselves but then she had begun to walk away and they realized that if they ever wanted to a part of her life like true brothers, just like Bill and Charlie, they had to take this chance. That's why they called her back, intent on giving it a try, even if that concern in her voice was just their imagination they wouldn't let this chance go. They would do whatever it takes to get their sister back.

…

"So what is it that you want with me?" Ginny demanded.

"It would be better if it was somewhere private," one of the twins replied.

"There's a secret passage just behind that tapestry," another twin added.

"Fine but better make it quick," Ginny said quickly, obviously not happy at being alone with them. The faces of the twins lost some colour at her tone but nonetheless they nodded and moved towards the secret passage. Ginny obviously was behind them.

Soon they arrived in an abandoned passageway that looked to be rarely used.

"So now that we are finally here what is it that you wanted to discuss with me?" Ginny said crossly.

The twins looked at each other obviously gathering their courage for the hard discussion that was about to come.

"Err Ginny we wanted to apologize, for you know…" one of the twins started.

"For, um, how you are treated at home and how we didn't do anything," the other twin finished lamely.

"Apologize?" Ginny's body went rigid for a moment before she exploded, "YOU WANTED TO APOLOGIZE? YOU THINK YOU WILL SAY SORRY AND EVERYTHING WILL GO AWAY. YOU THINK EVERYTHING WOULD BE ALRIGHT THEN?"

A single tear ran down her cheek and then it was like a dam had exploded as tears after tears came, no sign of them stopping anywhere. The twins wanted to engulf her and tell her that it was alright but all that they could do was stare at her helplessly as she wept, their hands clenched tightly at their sides.

"When Bill and Charlie would be off to Hogwarts and Dad at work, you two knew how lonely I was. Ron was the one who teased me and I never expected any sort of sympathy from Percy. But you two," she raised a shaking finger at them, "I thought you two were on my side. I thought you two understood what I was going through. But then," Ginny furiously wiped at her eyes, "You two betrayed me. Did you two have any idea how horrible it was? Did you have any idea what I went through knowing that you two wouldn't even look at me? You two were supposed to be my brothers. You two were supposed to protect me. But instead you abandoned me," Ginny sank to her knees shaking as she cried her heart all the time mumbling, "You two abandoned me."

The guilt that the twins were facing over their actions came back twice as hard as they listened to Ginny.

"Believe us Ginny, we never wanted you to go through all that?" one of the twins replied, Guilt showing heavily on the face of both twins.

"Then why," Ginny looked up furiously, "Why didn't you two do anything?" her voice grew weak as she came close to the end of the sentence, "It's not like I wanted you two to stand up to mother and save me. All I wanted was for you two to smile at me and talk to me a little bit when no one was present. That's all I ever asked? Was that too much for you?"

The twins could only look down in shame.

After what seemed like an eternity finally one of the twins answered, "For that Ginny we have no answer. Whatever you are saying is true. We are probably the worst brothers in the history. We never even tried to get to know you. We ignored you like you were just a piece…."

"And for that we deserve to be cremated," the other twin picked up, "All that we can say in our defence is, Ginny, we were naïve….."

"Even that is just an excuse," the other twin started," We were idiots back then, the biggest idiots in the world for not realizing we had such a wonderful little sister…."

"But now we have realized our mistake, Ginny, We know that you have right to hate our guts, but even then we would ask you for another chance…"

"Even knowing that it's too much to ask for we cannot let this sit. Please Ginny forgive us…"

"And give us another chance to be your brother," both twins finished together at the end. As they finished, both of them bowed their heads waiting for Ginny to speak.

Ginny could only look with wonder as her heart was filled with warmth over the twins sincerest apology. A smile slowly crept on to her face.

"Is that true?" she asked hesitatingly not wanting to believe what she was hearing.

The twins only nodded their heads.

Ginny's smile became so big that one would say that she was smiling from ear to ear, the whole room became more bright as Ginny's smile became more radiant. She rushed over to the twins before catching them in a bone crushing hug, "Of course you idiots, you always were my brothers," this was her reply as tears streamed down her face albeit this time they were the tears of joy.

…..

Meanwhile Harry and Luna had informed Professor McGonagall of the latest attack. She wasted no time in contacting Madame Pomfrey to check on the twins. Harry, Ginny and Luna received fifty points for saving the lives of fellows Gryffindor. And a detention for being out of bound after curfew.

Like everything remarkable, the news of the failed attack by the heir spread throughout the school like wild fire and before long a thousand tales had sprouted up about the attack. Most of them spread and duly exaggerated by the twins themselves. Nonetheless the whole school knew that the trio was involved in the event. Which meant more stares and whispers. But they had already gotten used to it.

The thing on the mind of Harry and the girls was the attack on the twins. Quite frankly the latest attack had baffled them. They had not expected an attack on a pureblood family albeit a blood traitor one. This only meant that they didn't know enough about the heir even now.

While speculating this fact, the month of December flew by. Classes came to an end and before they knew it students were boarding the Hogwarts express and travelling to the relative safety of their homes away from the dark shadows that hung over Hogwarts for now.

But still seven students were staying behind and all of them were Gryffindors. After patching up with Ginny the twins had started to spend more times with Harry and the girls, telling them about the different secret passages they had discovered over the years and how they used them to prank others.

During all this Harry and the girls haven't forgotten about Hagrid. They still visited him almost weekly. Or when they could spare some time from their tight schedule. Honestly they enjoyed the company of Giant man very much to not go there for a long time.

Winter Holidays also flew by in the whirlwind of training, investigation and some fun and soon Harry found himself to be woken by two beauties on Christmas day.

"You know I could get used to being woken up by you two," Harry said waggling his eyebrows while getting up.

"Prat," Ginny hit him on the head, "Consider this a special Christmas privilege only."

"Ow, alright. No need to get violent here," Harry said while rubbing his head.

"Of course, although Harry if you want I can come to wake you up daily you know," Luna said eyes big blue eyes staring at him.

"You know Luna I was only joking," Harry mumbled afraid that Luna had taken it seriously. He actually didn't mind but was afraid what others would think.

"Oh," Luna replied blinking owlishly.

"Come on Luna let's go he still need to get ready," she sniffed the air, "wonder where this stench is coming from."

"Hey," Harry shouted indignantly.

"Of course Ginny it smells, stenchwhicher are known to get attached to young boys at night," Luna replied matter of factly.

"Thanks for your help Luna," Harry answered sarcastically.

"You are welcome Harry. I can help you in removing those stenchwhicher. They are rather hard to remove," Luna replied.

At that Harry's face turned completely red.

"Oh I am sure he'll like that," Ginny giggled, "Come on Luna let's go. I am sure he can manage by himself. Can't you Harry," she cooed at him.

Harry just blew a raspberry at her.

"If you say so Ginny," Luna answered getting up from Harry's bed, "Be sure to come fast Harry. We'll be waiting with your present."

And with that the two girls left.

Present. Harry still couldn't wrap his head around the idea of him getting present. Shaking his head he quickly got up from his bed and it was then that he noticed the snores coming from another bed in the dormitory. Harry once again shook his head. How could someone sleep through all this ruckus? He would never know.

…

In half an hour Harry was ready and sitting with the two girls in front of the warm fire in common room.

"Took you long enough," Ginny mock reprimanded him.

"Excuse me a guy has to take care of his cleanliness," Harry retorted.

"And you certainly need it too," was the instant reply by Ginny.

"You two almost look like a married couple," Luna said dreamily but then she frowned, "But there is something missing," her expression brightened, "Oh I know it's the curpolangers."

At first Harry and Ginny were quite flustered at Luna's comment but it was soon replaced by humour at Luna's sheer oddity.

"Although we mustn't waste any more time," Luna continued in a serious tone, "gobblers are known to steal your present if kept wrapped for too long."

"And we wouldn't want that now would we Ginny?" Harry said arching his eyebrows.

"Of course not Harry," Ginny replied mirth evident in her voice.

"So Luna why don't we open Hagrid's present first?" Harry said turning to Luna.

"If you say so Harry," Luna said merrily before she picked up a package, the other two following her suit. There were no mysterious packages this year only the present from Hagrid, from each other and from Ginny's and Luna's Dad and a strange envelope from the twins.

Tearing of the wrapper off Hagrid's present, revealed long white hair.

"Hair? What are these for?" Harry exclaimed.

"Not just hair Harry," Luna replied focusing on the hair, "these are unicorn hair. They are supposed to help ward off evil."

"Really Luna, Wow. This sure is an amazing gift," Ginny exclaimed, "Although how did he come by these?"

"Well Hagrid is pretty friendly with the animals and I am sure there must be some unicorns in the forbidden forest." Harry answered.

"Here give me those hair. I know how to use them." Luna said quite seriously.

Harry and Ginny just shrugged and gave their hair to Luna who carefully put them aside before going up the stairs.

"What is she up to?" Ginny asked confused.

"Don't know," Harry replied shrugging his shoulders.

In a few minutes Luna was back but this time she was carrying three pieces of clothes, "As it happens," Luna started, "these will go nicely with my gift for you too. Why don't you open them?" she prompted them.

Harry and Ginny seeing no reason to doubt tore off the paper to find a bracelet each.

"These bracelets were said to house the great Stones of Awakening once worn by the Pharaoh of Egypt," Luna started explaining, "but without those stones they are just normal bracelets. My dad found them during his tour to Egypt. I thought they would go nicely with the unicorn hairs." During all this she was busy wrapping the unicorn hair in the clothes. "Here give me the bracelets please," Luna asked.

Harry and Ginny just handed over the bracelet without much question. They too were interested in knowing what she was doing.

As soon as Luna placed the cloth with hair inside the bracelet, a strange glow was emitted and the cloth became a part of the bracelet in the form of a stone.

"Oh my," Luna exclaimed softy, "it looks like the bracelet also has some magical charms on it." She placed the cloth in the other bracelet and the same thing happened.

"Here you go," Luna said handing over the bracelets to the other two, "merry Christmas,"

"Wow thanks Luna but are you sure that you should be giving us such a magical artefact," Harry asked amazed while rotating the bracelet on his wrist.

"Oh yes Harry I am quite sure," Luna answered with a smile, "These bracelets actually have no value except for historical. All the great magical deeds are linked with the Stones of Awakening but they are gone. I am sure this was nothing but just a magical charm placed on the bracelet to ensure that the stones would fit."

"That's all well and good Luna but what about yours?" Ginny asked curiously.

"Oh I also have one of these bracelets," Luna showed them her bracelet, "It just happens that there were rumoured to be three bracelets and my dad found all three of them together so I thought this would make a great gift as sign of our friendship. Three ancient bracelets just for the three of us." Luna smiled brilliantly.

She too placed her hair in the bracelet and like the other two they became a part of the bracelet.

"Well now then," Luna exclaimed joyfully, "as we are wearing the hair it will help ward off all those who are evil and will protect us from anything meaning us harm."

"I didn't realize unicorn hair could be so useful," Harry said with wide eyes.

"They only are useful if given willingly," Luna replied turning serious, "If you forcefully take it from them then they will lose all the charm and in some cases, if you earn the wrath of the unicorn, can even curse you, that's why the unicorn hair sold in the shop never works."

"I don't know what to say," Ginny answered amazed.

"I know Ginny," Luna said, "It really is a wonderful gift from Hagrid."

"Yours is pretty amazing too," Harry added, "And now I think it's time for Ginny's gift."

Ginny watched anxiously as Harry and Luna opened her gift.

"Oh wow Ginny, they are beautiful. I didn't know you could sew," Harry said breathlessly as he looked at the gift.

"Yes Ginny it is quite wonderful," Luna added. Ginny had given both Harry and Luna a woollen scarf each. Harry had an emerald one while Luna had a faded silver almost white to compliment her hair.

"I asked dad for the material," Ginny said delighted that her friends liked her gift this much, "I hope you don't mind me using Hedwig without your permission Harry."

"It's alright. You can use her whenever you like. It's not I have anyone to write to," Harry said shrugging his shoulders, "And if I am going to get gifts like these then you can use her without telling me as much as you like."

"Prat," Ginny replied though obviously very pleased at the praise.

"Well now Harry's gift is the only one left from the three of us," Luna said in her usual dreamy tone.

"What's the holdback then Luna?" Ginny replied mischievously.

Harry could only watch nervously as the girls tore open his present He could only hope that the girls liked his present half as much as he liked theirs.

"Wow Harry they must have cost a fortune," Ginny breathed. In her hand was a stunning necklace matched by another beautiful necklace in Luna's hand.

"Not really that much," Harry replied sheepishly.

"Honestly Harry you need to stop spending so much on us," Ginny said exasperated. Nonetheless she rose up to give him a hug, "I love it." She said.

Her hug was followed by one from Luna, "It is quite wonderful Harry." Putting a goofy grin on his face.

Deciding to leave twins present to the last since it was addressed to all three of them Ginny and Luna opened the presents from their respective Dad. Ginny's dad had given her a red sweater while Luna's dad had given her some odd thing beyond the comprehension of Ginny and Harry but something that Luna was very happy to get.

Now the only present left was from the twins. Knowing the habits of twins to prank anyone Harry cautiously opened the envelope only to find that there was an old parchment with a letter.

_**Ginny, Harry and Luna,**_

_**We are having this conversation through this letter because it would have been too much for the two of us to give this beauty to you three in person. Even now while putting this piece of heart in here with this letter we cannot bear to be part from it (You can add more than a few tears here.) but knowing that we are passing it to fellow troublemakers make our hearts at a bit of peace with itself.**_

_**Now turning serious here (or as serious as we two can get). Honestly this little of piece of paper here (not this one the other one) was our greatest find in Hogwarts and what enabled us to successfully pull so many pranks without ever being caught (at least in the act). We know what we did to you Ginny was horrible and there is no redemption for that but knowing that you three love to explore the castle as much as we do does give us a chance for a little bit of pay back. We won't reveal what it is in this letter just tap the piece of parchment with your wand and say "I solemnly swear I am up to no good." And once you are done once again tap it and say "mischief managed," we hope that this will help in mending our relationship Ginny (And help you in becoming a better prankster)**_

_**Give them hell,**_

_**The beloved,**_

_**Prankster extraordinaire,**_

_**Like whom none has ever been born,**_

_**The Twins.**_

"Honestly those two," Ginny said with a small smile.

"Looks like they are making a sincere effort of reconciling with you Ginny," Harry observed.

"I am happy for you Ginny," Luna said with a smile of her own before giving Ginny a quick hug.

"Well let's see what it is," Ginny demanded.

Harry complied pulling out the blank piece of parchment. It was a bit faded and looked old. Nonetheless Harry drew his wand and tapped it, "I solemnly swear I am up to no good."

To the amazement of Harry and the girls lines began to appear on the parchment. The lines quickly rearranged themselves to form words.

"Moony, Padfoot, Prongs and Wormtail are proud to present to you THE MARAUDERS MAP," as soon as Harry read these words aloud the words vanished and lines quickly appeared on the map.

"It's a map," Harry said in amazement.

"Not an ordinary map, it's the map of Hogwarts," Luna breathed.

"Do you know what we can do with this?" Ginny said in excitement.

"Track the heir in no time at all," Harry answered with a smirk.

"I cannot wait for the students to return," Luna said with a feral smile of her own

…..

Rest of the days of the winter holidays passed without any special incident and soon the students have returned to Hogwarts. Forgetting the fear that had plagued them during the first term the students were busy in their usual light chatter.

"Snape, Why him of all on the first day of the New Year of a new term," this voice belonged to a special raven haired boy currently clutching those raven hair in his hands.

"Aww poor Harry, fates is so cruel on him," Ginny said while holding off her laughter.

"Oh shut up, why are you not affected by it?" Harry glared at her.

"Because I get enough satisfaction out of it by making the class miserable for him," Ginny answered while sticking out her tongue.

"Hush you two Dumbledore is about to say something," Luna said silencing both of them.

As Luna had said Dumbledore had just then stood up and motioned for the students to listen to him.

"It is with great regret that I inform you all," Dumbledore said while surveying the student body that was raptly listening to him

"That last night The Heir of The Slytherin struck once again."

….


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N: Yo People, I am back. And comes with me the thing that you wait the most for, or I at least hope that you do. With that, After receiving blows after blows of mistakes, which hurt my pride quite a bit I have decided that it's finally time. Time for a Beta. Sigh! What can I do now, I don't know anything about a beta, so I thought of asking my loyal readers. So here I am, on my knees, begging for a beta. Is there anyone who would listen to this poor guy and, hopefully, become a beta?**

**Without further ado, the next chapter. By the way, you people read my Author notes don't you?**

Chapter 11

A long silence followed Dumbledore's announcement, slowly, the whispers broke out and soon the Great Hall resembled a noisy den of chickens.

"SILENCE," Dumbledore screamed and instantly the whole hall quieted down.

"The one who was attacked was Penelope Clearwater, a fifth year prefect. Fortunately she was only petrified and we can hope that she will make a full recovery in a few months when the mandrake plants are ready. Am I right Professor Sprout?" at the end Dumbledore looked towards the Herbology professor who only nodded.

"Well then I would ask that all of you attend to extreme caution and not travel alone especially at night. Henceforth the curfew has been set at 7 p.m. Teachers will personally escort you all for dinner and back to your dorms. It is advised that even during the day you must travel together so as not to give the heir an easy target. In the mean time I and my teachers are devoting their full efforts to the finding of the heir and we are sure that we'll catch him soon. That is all," and with that Dumbledore sat down grimly.

"But how?" Harry asked quite shocked. They had monitored the halls of Hogwarts till late at night and couldn't find anything out of ordinary.

"The last one who met with Penelope was Percy," Luna said thoughtfully.

"Could it be?" Harry asked slowly.

"Impossible," Ginny immediately shot down the idea, "Look at him," she pointed towards Percy who had gone rigid with shock, "Percy is an asshole but he was never a good actor and this certainly isn't acting."

"Not to mention it should be some champion of pureblood supremacy and Percy doesn't look like that type," Luna theorized.

"But then how?" Harry asked.

"I don't know Harry. I don't know," Luna replied.

…..

Harry, Ginny and Luna didn't have much time to ponder over how the heir managed to escape their watch as their second match of the Quidditch season was coming up against the Ravenclaws and Wood didn't look like that he would let the Cup go even if the heir himself came on the pitch. Sometimes the practices even had to be broken by Professor McGonagall because they would be running near the curfew time. It would usually result in a lecture to Wood but it only seemed to increase his fanaticism for the cup. Honestly Harry and the girls didn't mind and they suspected that the rest of the team didn't mind much either. All of them were determined to take the Quidditch cup with them, not to mention that all the practice provided a welcome distraction from the gloomy atmosphere inside the Castle.

Soon the day of the match was upon them. Harry Ginny and Luna went to Great Hall on the usual time only to find the whole team there. As expected. Even after having brilliant successes in a row the team was still nervous as hell before the match. The only one who ate anything were Harry, Ginny and Luna.

Shortly afterwards Wood stood up and motioned for the team to follow him. In a few minutes they were in Gryffindor Locker room earlier than anyone. As expected.

Harry and the girls sat there listening, as the pitch slowly filled up. It looked like more than usual people had turned out to watch as the cheers were louder than usual.

Wood stuck his head out through the door to take a look at the situation. Noticing that it was almost time, he went back to his customary position to give the pre match pep talk.

"Ladies and Gentlemen," Wood breathed as he surveyed his team, "This year has been especially hard with these attacks. We all have noticed the gloom in the air inside the castle. The students here crave for a distraction. Something to divert their attention away from those maddening attack and we know how to do that. Don't we?" Wood stopped for a short time, "So what do you people say, LET'S GIVE THEM SOMETHING TO CHEER," Wood ended his sentence with the usual loud voice and mounted his broom before flying out. The whole team yelled before following him out to the deafening cheers.

"AND THERE YOU HAVE THE MOST BRILLIANT TEAM, AT LEAST OF PRESENT IN HOGWART LED BY CAPTAIN WOOD AND FOLLOWED BY SPINNET, BELL, JOHNSON, LOVEGOOD, WEASLEY, WEASLEY, WEASLEY AND POTTER."

As usual the one performing the commentary was Lee Jordan mediated by Professor McGonagall herself.

This time Ginny and Luna were part of the starting lineup. The one given rest were Katie and Alicia. Harry slowly rose up, confident that the girls would give them a huge margin but still keeping an eye out for the snitch which was already released.

"AND THAT'S THE WHISTLE, THE MATCH HAS BEEN STARTED. OH MY WHAT IS THIS FOR ONCE WEASLEY MISSED THE QUAFFLE AND IT'S IN THE HAND OF RAVENCLAW CHASER, MAVICK I THINK, HE IS FLYING FAST TOWARDS THE HOOP. WHAT! WHERE DID THE QUAFFLE GO? OH IT'S IN THE HANDS OF LOVEGOOD. SHE CAME OUT OF NOWHERE AND SNATCHED THE QUAFFLE BACK BEFORE MAVICK EVEN REALIZED WHAT WAS HAPPENING AND NOW IT'S A LONG PASS TO WEASLEY AT THE OTHER END, AIMS AT THE HOOP, IT'S A FEINT, JOHNSON COMES FROM THE OTHER SIDES, CATCHES IT AND SCORE! GRYFFINDOR LEADS 10-0."

Lee continued the commentary in usual excitement, Gryffindor and Hufflepuff stands were drowned in cheers whereas only boos were coming from Slytherin, followed by dead silence in the Ravenclaw stands. It looked like they had already lost hope of their team winning the match.

Harry watched as the chasers scored relentlessly, and Ravenclaws tried to score in what little possession they had. Wood was a good keeper but still let a few shots in. Amidst all this, the twins were doing a remarkable job of keeping the bludgers away from the chasers. Gryffindors were leading 60-20 in the first hour of the game. But then it all changed.

Harry was busy looking for the snitch when he heard a zip like sound. Reflexively he jerked his broom to the side and that's what saved his life. A bludger at lightning speed whooshed passed the place Harry was at just a moment after. Harry blinked as he watched the bludger go.

"Who,a guess they really have lost all hope of disrupting the girls," Harry mumbled to himself.

One of the twins came up and hit the bludger, Harry had no idea which one it was but then again no one had, "Sorry Harry," the twin called out as he smashed the bludger.

Harry just nodded his head to show it was alright. He was about to turn and began searching for the snitch when noticed out of the corner of his eye, another bludger coming towards him. This time he couldn't jerk his broom back so he just tilted back. Harry watched transfixed as the bludger passed right in front of him mere millimeters away from his face.

"Whoa that was close," Harry mumbled.

"HARRY BEHIND YOU," A voice shrieked presumably from Ginny. Harry turned back only to find another Bludger coming at him.

"Oh shit," Harry cursed before jerking his broom at full speed downwards, the bludger once again whooshed passed him.

"What the hell? Where are those infernal twins?" Harry asked to no one in particular, only to find another bludger this one from the front coming at him.

"Seriously, I am already getting tired of this," Harry mumbled as he pushed his broom upwards. He watched as the bludger sailed past him only to stop a few meters away from the stands and come at him at full speed.

"Wait a minute, they are not supposed to do that." Harry said in shock. So engrossed in the upcoming bludger was Harry that he didn't notice what was happening behind his back.

"SMASH," was the sound Harry turned as he reflexively turned back only to find a twin in front of him.

"Sorry Harry, we don't know what happened but these bludgers seems to be targeting you," the twin explained.

Harry was about to answer, when he heard another smash, this one from the front. The other twin had arrived too.

"George my esteemed twin, as much as I would like to join you and Harry in your no doubt important discussion, we needs to pay attention to those bludger or otherwise he might be smashed to a jelly and I don't think our beloved sister would like that now would she?" the other twin said.

"As always you are right, my dearest twins," the one in the back now recognized as George spoke.

Harry looked down towards the chasers only to find the anxious pair of eyes on him.

"I AM ALRIGHT, CONCENTRATE ON THE MATCH," Harry yelled.

Ginny and Luna nodded, and once again, turned their attention towards the Quaffle, now in Ravenclaw possession, Taking advantage of their distraction they had scored three more goals, and now the score was 60-50.

"ABOUT TIME YOU TWO ARE BACK," Angelina screamed as she threw the Quaffle at them, which she had just stolen from the Ravenclaw chaser.

"Don't worry we'll give them hell now," Ginny mumbled quite serious and angry at the current situation, Luna also was in the same state.

"COME ON LUNA," Ginny screamed before she zipped past the fast coming chaser and passed it to Luna on the other end

As soon as the Ravenclaw chaser were about to close in on Luna, she dropped the Quaffle down which was picked by Ginny who passed her from below at just the exact moment. Truly, their teamwork was remarkable.

Now they were almost in front of the hoops.

"No feints this time," Ginny mumbled to herself as she threw the Quaffle with full force towards the hoops. The Ravenclaw keeper didn't even have any time to react as he watched the Quaffle sail past him in the middle hoop. And hence, Gryffindors once again continued to increase their lead.

Amongst this all, Harry continued to struggle with the Bludgers, but no matter what he did, the bludgers wouldn't leave him alone. Another half hour had gone by, and the Bludgers showed no sign to stop.

"Where is that freaking snitch," Harry mumbled as he once again dodged the bludger, only to find another one coming at him, this one smacked away by the twins. But even they were growing tired of constantly smashing the Bludger. The score had risen to 130-50

And it was then when Harry noticed the snitch hovering right in the middle of the pitch but the other seeker was already speeding towards it.

"Oh shit," Harry cursed before he pushed his broom to its maximum acceleration towards the snitch. Thankfully the broom of the other seeker was an older model and was not as fast as nimbus 2000. Even then the distance was so great that Harry for a moment doubted that he could reach it.

The distance between the seeker and snitch grew shorter and shorter as Harry approached. The other seeker extended his hand intent on catching the snitch.

Harry seeing this pushed his broom for one last burst of speed and just as the other seeker was about to catch the snitch Harry plucked it from right underneath his hand.

But as he closed his hand on the snitch, he noticed an odd expression on the opposing seeker face, Harry involuntary pulled his broom in a dive only to hear a smack from above. Harry looked upwards only to find to his horror that the bludger had hit the other seeker right on the face. He could only watch, as the seeker fell from his broom and crashed on the ground a hundred feet below, in a heap of tangled limbs.

But even now, the Bludger won't stop. Twins who had obviously relaxed since the match had ended could only watch as the other Bludger smashed with full force in the shoulder of Harry who was finally caught unaware.

"HARRY," these voices belonged to Ginny and Luna as they landed hastily on the ground to get their wands and before anyone knew it they were on Harry's side.

But they didn't have much time as they saw another Bludger coming at them at full speed. Seeing no other option they brought out their wands and were about to cast a spell when both of the Bludgers were simultaneously destroyed.

Looking around they found themselves right in front of the Commentary Stand and there Professor McGonagall stood with her wand pointed towards them. Her lips drawn in a thin line. They certainly didn't wish to cross her at this time.

But they had other matters to attend to, as Harry gave a hiss in pain. The girls turned towards him, only to find him barely holding onto his broom due to the pain in the shoulder.

"Come on Harry, let's get you to Madame Pomfrey," Ginny said tenderly.

Harry only nodded as Ginny and Luna both guided him down to the pitch slowly.

There, the whole team was waiting for them anxiously.

"Harry, are you alright?" Wood asked the whole team stood behind.

"Of course not does he look alright Wood," Ginny replied bitterly, "He took a Bludger to the shoulder, and how can he be alright?" she looked to be right in state.

"Come on Ginny, no need to snap," Harry said slowly only to hiss with pain.

"Harry?" Luna asked concern evident in her eyes.

"I am alright Luna, it's just a broken shoulder but I…."

Whatever Harry was going to say was cut short by the arrival of Lockhart.

"Yes Harry, for the vanquisher of Dark Lord broken shoulder mean nothing, am I right?" Lockhart gave his trademark smile, "Now why don't you allow me to heal that shoulder."

But before he could draw his wand, he found two other wands pointed right at him.

"Ladies, Ladies there is no need for hostility, I perfectly well know how to heal a broken shoulder," but he could only gulp at seeing the fiery look in the eyes of the two young girls.

"We don't want your half-baked knowledge. Now move," Luna hissed. All those that heard her could fill a chill run down their spine.

"But…" Lockhart was about to protest.

"I must agree with the young girl here Gilderoy," Professor McGonagall had finally arrived, "I mean, Harry should get that shoulder looked at by a proper healer. I trust you girls can take him to Madame Pomfrey?" at their nod she turned towards Wood, "Wood you go with them."

"Yes Professor," Wood nodded obediently before helping the two girls carry Harry back to the infirmary.

…

Harry groaned as he turned in his bed. He had no idea why he was still in the infirmary. After Wood, along with the girls, had arrived at the infirmary carrying him, Madame Pomfrey had immediately banished them from the infirmary before waving her wand at him and healing his shoulder in an instant. But even then she hadn't allowed him to leave. Claiming that she needed to watch over him for the night. He certainly hadn't liked the strict attitude of the healer. What healer in their right mind would be so stern to their patient? That was the thought that had crossed Harry's mind. The infirmary was fast becoming the most dreaded place in Hogwarts for him.

"Harry Potter Sir!" a voice squeaked from the side of the bed making Harry jump. Harry turned towards to the side only to find Dobby standing there shivering.

And then everything was clear to him in an instant. Dobby's warning and how the Bludgers chased him around like a pair of mad bulls.

"So it was you, Dobby," Harry stated calmly. But he was far from calm inside. This deranged elf was causing him way too much headache. He seriously was considering strangling him right now.

Dobby shook his big ears, "Dobby is not Sorry, Dobby would have come in first match but Dobby was so busy watching young master getting beaten that he was almost…" suddenly Dobby placed his hand on his mouth as his eyes went wide. Harry had a split second warning, before Dobby started banging his head on the nearby lamp.

"Bad Dobby, Dobby speaks ill of his master, Very bad Dobby," Harry lunged at the diminutive creature trying to pry the lamp from his hands, "Dobby it's alright, you didn't say anything bad," at the same time his mind was racing. Dobby had given a large clue to who his master was.

Dobby finally let go of the lamp and Harry breathed a sigh of relief.

"Harry Potter Sir, He is so great. He even consoles poor Dobby," Dobby said while wiping away big white tears.

Seeing that Dobby had finally calmed down Harry decided to press forward, "Malfoys, they are your master right,"

This time Harry was ready for Dobby as he once again lunged for the side table, "No Dobby, I already knew, you didn't tell me," Harry tried to calm the elf who was trying to break away from his grip.

"Really Harry Potter Sir," Dobby looked at him with big watery eyes.

Harry sighed, "Yes."

"Harry Potter Sir is so great, he saves Dobby from great trouble," Dobby looked at him in admiration, "But still Harry Potter Sir must leave Hogwarts t it still is too dangerous for him." Dobby said as he looked around.

"Dobby senses the great evil Serpent, The king of Snakes," Suddenly Dobby's eyes went wide, "Dobby must go now, Dobby's master be calling him." And with that the elf was gone before Harry had a chance to say anything.

"Still it was productive," Harry mumbled to himself before he lied down, "King of Snakes huh?" Harry whispered, "I wonder what that is."

"Basilisk Harry," A voice oddly matching to Luna said from thin air.

"You two," Harry sighed as he sat back up, "How long have you been here?"

At that moment the air in front of his bed simmered as someone had pulled back a transparent cover and two young girls appeared in front of him.

"We were watching the map for any odd activities when we noticed the dot of Dobby near you, so we stole your cloak from your dorm and came here as soon as we can," Ginny explained.

"Still though Basilisk, what is that?" Harry asked turning towards Luna.

"A Basilisk is a magical snake Harry," Luna started explaining, "It is said to kill its prey with just a glance. His glance is so strong that even if you look at it through a reflective surface it would still petrify you."

"A snake huh?" Harry murmured, "Just the perfect animal for the Slytherin beast."

"That does explain those petrification," Ginny said thoughtfully.

"But that still leaves us with one question," Luna said seriously as she looked at her friends, "Where does he hide something like a Basilisk?"

….

As the investigation of Harry and the Girls continued, so did the time fly. Even after knowing of the Malfoy's involvement with the Chamber incident, they still didn't know how they were involved. Not to mention they still didn't know who was the heir or acting on heir's behalf.

Soon the Valentine's Day was upon them and with it came Lockhart's ridiculous attempt at cheering up the gloomy atmosphere in Hogwarts, with his cupid messenger delivering Valentine's messages to their loved ones. How could anyone stand those little things? He didn't know.

But soon Harry's irritation turned to full blown horror as he watched a cupid make its way towards him. He wanted to run but found that his feet frozen to the ground. He looked towards his friends in panic hoping for their aid but immediately knew none was coming. Resigned to his fate he could only listen, chagrined, as the cupid delivered its message.

After being thoroughly humiliated, he finally looked up, "So which one of you it was, or rather were it both of you?" Harry asked exasperatedly.

"Not really," Ginny answered barely suppressing her mirth, "It wasn't us honest."

"Those twins," Harry swore. For no one else could it be, "But first Lockhart's going to pay for what he did to me," he looked towards his friends, "Are you two in?"

Ginny gave a feral smile, "Always in for a good prank."

….

The next morning held an interesting dilemma for a certain professor. As it happened Professor Lockhart tripped over apparently nothing as soon as he entered only to find himself turned into an ostrich. In a few seconds he was back to normal and it looked like nothing will happen, till right when the Hall was bustling with activity he suddenly jumped from his seat only to lay an egg right in front of the whole school. Needless to say the whole school was dead silent till Lockhart walked up to Snape only to declare his undying love to him. As it happens the whole school was rolling on the ground in laughter. The hall had barely quieted down when Lockhart had said in a stage whisper that he really liked it when Snape bounced him on his wand. It had sent the whole school in a fresh peel of laughter. A very smug faced raven haired boy sat at the Gryffindor Table looking at the proceeding with extreme satisfaction.

….

Harry and the girls were sitting at the Gryffindor table eating their well deserved dinner after a full day of exhausting classes, which was spent mostly on the spell they already knew and hence resulted in them once again at the top of the class, not to mention a double potions class, in which Snape was extremely irate and kept sending them murderous glares. Granted he usually sent them murderous glare, but today Harry and the girls felt that the glares were much more in intensity and quantity.

"Snape sure was in a foul mood today," Ginny observed, mirth evident in her voice.

"I would think so," Luna stated, "Now the whole school knows he is homosexual."

"What?" Harry sputtered, "Snape's gay?"

"Well, what other reason could there be for him being single even now," Luna answered with a rather serious look.

"Oh my, Harry, could it be that Snape's secretly attracted to you and that's why he is so hostile towards you," Ginny said teasingly.

"Don't even joke about it," Harry said as he felt a powerful shiver run down his spine.

"I hear someone saying Joke," Harry and the girls heard a familiar voice before the twins plopped down on the bench opposite them.

"Harry, my boy," One of the twins said.

"Ginny. our beloved sister," other twin chorused.

"Luna The lo….. we mean the lofty, we your humble servants salute you," both finished together.

"And why would that be?" Harry asked feigning ignorance.

"Harry, you hurt us," the twins answered while placing a hand over each other chest, "We know a perpetrator when we see one."

"Now, I and my esteemed brother here," the twins looked towards each other, "Couldn't help but notice that the prank was extremely complex. Not complex for us of course, but still we were rather interested."

"In how you managed to pull it off," the other twin finished.

"Trade secret guys," Harry said with a grin throwing their very own phrase at them.

"Now Now Harry," one of the twins, Merlin knows which one, started, "Is that any way to speak to the guys who granted you that esteemed Map,"

"Hey, that was supposed to be our make-up gift," Ginny exclaimed.

"Oh our beloved sister, if you truly believe that,"

"Then you really are naïve,"

"In truth, we had learned all that we could from that map and were looking for a suitable heir to pass it onto,"

"Not to be mistaken with another heir that prowls these hallowed halls as of late,"

"Yes my esteemed brother, but let me finish."

"Of course my esteemed Twin continue."

"As I was saying, before my esteemed twin here so gallantly interrupted me,"

"You mean respectfully," Luna corrected absent mindedly, "Gallantly means courageous and I don't think courage is needed here."

"Now there's a girl, my esteemed twin who is paying attention," the twin which was explaining exclaimed.

"Of course my brother, we are such magnificent story tellers that people cannot help but be attentive."

"You two were saying something," Harry said exasperated. He could feel a headache coming on from the constant to and fro between the twins.

"As I was saying," the twins which was explaining before started once again, "we were looking for a suitable heir to pass this map onto, and then we discovered that you three are as much in love with exploration as we young adventurers are. Now we had recently made up with our beloved sister here, so we thought let's make her happy and henceforth is the whole story." Finally the twin finished.

"Well good luck to you two getting anything out of us now," Ginny huffed.

"Ah, but Harry here would understand, won't you Harry?" the twins turned towards him.

"Sorry guys but I rather like myself as I am now," Harry answered.

"Well look here Fred,"

"I know George,"

"The young these days won't even take a small risk for the greater good."

"I'll tell you whether it's a small risk or not," Ginny glared at them.

"Ah George, my beloved twin looks like we have overstayed our welcome here," Fred said hastily before jumping over the bench, "See you three trouble makers later," and with that the two were gone just like they came.

"I am going to hex those two," Ginny muttered under her breath.

Harry was about to give a snappy retort when he noticed Professor McGonagall and Dumbledore enter the Great Hall looking extremely grim.

"Looks like the heir struck once again," Luna observed calmly.

"And Percy is not present this time either," Harry said surveying the Gryffindor table.

"MAY I HAVE YOUR ATTENTION PLEASE?" Dumbledore's voice echoed through the whole Great Hall instantly silencing the gossiping students.

"It looks like I have been bringing you some bad news of late," Dumbledore noted sadly, "And it's with great regret, that I say that today's announcement isn't of a happy nature either," The whole student body listened to Dumbledore wondering what he was about say, "It is with great sorrow that I announce that the heir has taken the life of another student."

The silence following Dumbledore's announcement was so deafening that Harry and the girls could listen to their own hearts beating.

"I must ask you all to observe a minute of silence in honor of one Mr. Ronald Weasley." After announcement Dumbledore clapped his hand and instantly the house banners turned black.

"Well that is one death I won't fret over," Ginny quipped after a full minute had passed.

….

"I don't Know, Percy maybe a pompous ass, but he doesn't sound like someone who would kill," Harry said contemplating.

"Well I would kill Ron in a heartbeat if given the chance," Ginny added her two Knuts of wisdom.

"You would kill your own mother given the chance," Harry mumbled.

"Now why would I do that," Ginny grinned, "It would be horrible of me to get her out of that misery."

"Well Fate does have an eerie way of getting even," Luna answered in her usual dreamy way.

Professor Dumbledore, after announcing the death of Ron had contacted Molly Weasley. Hearing that her beloved son had died, she couldn't bear with grief and had suffered a mental breakdown. Arthur had to admit her to St. Mungo's hospital. And since then Ginny had been unusually happy.

"Getting back to topic," Luna said, "we have to remember that Malfoy's are involved too, they could very well be somehow controlling him to get their way."

"I remember," Ginny said, "Dad has been trying to pass a muggleborns protection law for some time now. If it was known one of his own children is attacking muggleborns than it would be a severe blow to Dad reputation."

"And Malfoy's and your dad doesn't seem to be on the best of their relationship," Harry said.

"I would say," Ginny murmured.

"But that still doesn't take us anywhere," Luna observed, "We still don't know how they are controlling him and when he would attack next. Even more important we don't know where he is hiding that basilisk or rather how is he even controlling a basilisk?"

"There still are a lot of question needed to be answered," Harry sighed, "All we can do is be prepared for when he attacks."

"Even then we have come out a lot of way. I mean at least we have a prime suspect now with a master mind and a motive," Ginny said.

"You are right Ginny but even now, I don't know I just have this feeling that we are missing something."

"Putting that aside we need to focus on confirming our suspicions regarding Percy, and if they are right, then how to reverse the holds of Malfoy's on him." Luna stated.

"We need to do this for Hagrid too," Harry stated.

"Those idiots," suddenly Ginny's mood turned foul, "the ministry thinks they can do whatever they want? Where's the justice in that. We all know Hagrid won't even hurt a fly, but still, they had the audacity to come and arrest him."

"I know Ginny, but it's against those kind of idiots that we are learning to fight right?" Luna said soothingly.

"On a completely related note," Luna continued, "It doesn't look like Dumbledore would be able to hold on to his position of Head master for long."

"I know," Harry nodded, "There have been the death of two students already with another petrified students, patience of the board of Governors must be running thin by now."

"So any of you want to bet when he would be removed?" Ginny said brightly.

…

In the following week, the news of Dumbledore's removal was announced and Professor McGonagall became the acting Headmistress, but it only brought with it a fresh wave of fear. There were already rumors of Hogwarts being closed down till the chamber have been found. Amidst all these rumors and fears, Harry and the girls diligently kept an eye on Percy. But to their frustration, they found no signs of him being under some kind of influence.

As February turned to March, the fear in the pit of stomach of Harry and the girls grew. It almost was like some grand finale was awaiting to end this show. But no matter how hard they tried, they couldn't find any other clue as to what was going to happen.

And so the days continued to pass, and soon it was the middle of March. Harry and the girls were just returning from their charms class, when they noticed a horde of students just ahead.

"What happened now?" Ginny asked quite worried.

But instead of answering her, Harry and Luna rushed forward to the crowd. They had to push a lot of students out of their way, but soon they reached the front. What they found, was a message written in blood. Human blood.

"_**His skeleton shall lie there forever"**_

It was a short message, but a message that struck fear in the heart of those who read it. A moment after, Ginny reached them too, only to suck in a breath, "Percy, where is he?"

Harry and the girls quickly came out of the crowd, and activated the map only to find, that Percy's dot was nowhere to be found.

"What do we do now? Percy has been taken down to chamber." Ginny asked in a rushed whisper.

"The Room of Requirement," Luna spoke calmly.

…..

"Okay what do we do now?" Harry asked to no one in particular.

They were right now, in room of requirement, in front of a strange sink after they had asked for the entrance to the Chamber of Secrets.

"Salazar Slytherin was renowned for his parseltongue ability," Luna said, "Why don't you try speaking in parseltongue?"

"If you say so," Harry said before he spoke "open,"

Luna shook her head, "That was normal Harry, I said in Parseltongue."

"Well I don't know how to activate this parseltongue," Harry retorted.

"Well Parseltongue is the language of snakes right? Why don't you imagine speaking to a snake?" Ginny suggested.

"Might as well," Harry shrugged before he closed his eyes and imagined a snake, "_Open,"_

Just then Harry heard a sound of grinding stones. He opened his eyes to find the sink has revealed a long drop.

"So what now?" Harry asked as he looked down in the dark hole.

"We jump into it," Luna said as it was the most obvious thing in the world before moving to jump into it.

"Wait, Luna!" Harry tried to stop her, but it was too late, as Luna had already jumped in.

"Oh well," Harry said, "Ladies first."

Ginny just stuck out her tongue, before following Luna.

"I must be barmy for doing this," Harry mumbled to himself before, he too, jumped inside.

After several long twisted pipes and what not, finally he was thrown out into a dark tunnel, illuminated by two lights, coming from Ginny's and Luna's wand.

He too, pulled out his wand and illuminated it, and took a step forward only to find something crunching under his feet.

"Rats," Harry said as he looked at his feet.

"Come on let's move forward. We don't have much time." Luna stated before she started moving. Harry and Ginny right behind her.

After several minutes of walking they came across a double set door and what looked like snake shedding right beside it.

"Are we going to fight that thing?" Harry said incredulously as he illuminated what looked like fifty feet long snake shedding.

"You think we can leave Percy?" Ginny asked.

"We have come so far, might as well rescue him," Luna said as she too took in the large shedding.

"He is going to owe us one large favor after this," Harry muttered to himself.

"Well Harry, if you will do the honors," Luna said with a smile as she motioned towards the entwined snakes.

"Yes I will do the honor of arranging our funerals," Harry muttered once again, only to hear giggles from behind.

The snakes were so lifelike, that Harry didn't have to imagine a snake he just looked at the two snakes and commanded, "_Open"_

It was like the snakes had come to life, as their eyes glowed and they separated from each other. The doors opened with a grinding sound.

"Well Ladies," Harry turned towards the girls with a smirk, "Ready for the fight for your life?"

Ginny and Luna just gave him a feral smile each.

Harry turned towards the chamber, "Okay then, let's show this heir who he is messing with."

….


	12. Chapter 12

**A/N: So here I am, once again, and with me comes the end of Chamber of Secret. Another year gone and five more to go, or is it? I might finish the book earlier than that. Here I am thinking, I have followed the books enough, its time to bring some original content to the surface. We'll see about that. I always find a way to hold you people back Don't I. Well, let's not keep you people waiting here is the next chapter. Oh and Yes, I finally got a beta, that doesn't mean, I am not looking for one still. The more the merrier. If you want to beta read, do PM me and I shall be glad to accept.**

**Don't forget to ask me any question if you have any.**

**Thanks to Lord Jawblinerron(Did I get the spellings right?) and PhoenixProngs for the amazing Beta Work (That means if you find any fault it's their mistake and NOT MINE.)**

**Here you go!**

Chapter 12

The inside of the chamber was every bit as Harry and the girls had imagined it to be. It was dark, gloomy, and had a surreal quality to it. Moreover, the walls were completely adorned with snakes. Harry could have sworn that he saw some of the snakes' eyes moving. Not to mention the torches, burning at some distances to each other, produced a peculiar glow which only added to the horror of the chamber.

"What person in their right mind would make something as eerie as this?" Ginny asked as they moved in the low lights of the torches.

"Apparently a person like Salazar Slytherin," Harry answered.

"Or Voldemort," Luna added.

"I still find it suspicious that Voldemort is not the heir of Slytherin," Ginny said thoughtfully.

"He might be. No one knew the real name of Voldemort," Luna answered as her eyes sharply searched the shadows just in front of them, "Look there's a body there," Luna said pointing right ahead of them.

"Doesn't he make a brilliant damsel in distress," Ginny said with a mocking tilt.

"Remember Ginny we are here to save that damsel in distress," Harry admonished her.

"Be on your guard, I sense someone nearby," Luna said sharply as she looked beyond the body.

Harry and the girls watched as a ghostly boy about the age of sixteen stepped out from the shadows.

"Oh my, I must say you have some sharp eyes," the boy stated softly.

"You must be Riddle," Harry stated as he took in his ethereal appearance.

"You surprise me. To think, that you even knew who would be awaiting you. I must say you caught me off guard Harry Potter," Riddle answered.

"You know me?" Harry asked surprised.

Of course I know you and your two companions here," Riddle replied, as he pointed towards the two girls "Ginny Weasley and Luna Lovegood. Percy here wrote all about you three and how you are prodigies of your time."

At that time Harry and the girls noticed a black diary, lying beside the body of Percy.

"So that's how you possessed him," Luna observed.

"Yes Ms. Lovegood. Strange isn't it, how a person is willing to pour out his heart on a simple piece of paper, even more so when that piece of paper is able to understand you like not even your family does. Percy here was delighted to find a diary of a fellow prefect before his time. And that's how I ensnared him. I listened to his worthless rambling and whining, waiting for the perfect moment to strike. Before long I noticed a hunger of power in his heart and resentment towards his family. That was my opening to strike. It didn't take me long to get full control of his body, but I must say in my haste to achieve my own body, I was rash and Percy was able to shake me off for a short time but then I regained my control and here we are now. I expected that someone would come but I was expecting Dumbledore not some second year student no matter how smart they are. I must say though it would help me in sating my curiosity." Tom really looked like a talkative person.

"Curiosity?" Harry asked confused.

"Yes I would very much like to know how a one year old was able to defeat the greatest wizard of his time."

"Why would you want to know that?" Harry asked befuddled.

"Really Harry, that's apparent as the daylight. Isn't it, Voldemort," Luna stated with a smile.

Tom just slowly started clapping.

"Your wits astound me Miss Lovegood. Yes I am the one who would later be known as Lord Voldemort." Tom answered as he brought out his wand and wrote his name in the air before rearranging it to "I AM LORD VOLDEMORT."

"As much as I am enjoying our little talk here I think it's about time that I finish you three and destroy what my future or rather past self wasn't able to. In the meantime Percy can devote his life force to my return," Tom said with a smile before he hissed, "_Speak to me Slytherin greatest of the founders four."_

Harry and the girls looked on as the mouth of the statue behind Tom opened to reveal hissing sounds.

"It's the Basilisk, run!" Ginny said before taking cover behind a pillar, Harry and Luna following her.

"So what's the plan now?" Ginny asked.

"We take out its eyes," Harry answered grimly.

"Easier said than done," Luna said before they heard a hissing sound right behind them. They only had a split second to dive before the basilisk face crashed in the place where they were just a moment ago.

"Run," Harry said before sprinting on ahead at full speed with the girls at his side. Their regular morning run had ensured that they could sprint for a long time.

But they were being chased by a basilisk, not called 'King of Snakes' for nothing. In a flash, it was upon them, opening its mouth to devour them.

Once again they had to dive out of the way to ensure they were not eaten alive, causing the snake to crash into the marble floor.

"Now, aim for its eyes," Luna screamed before shouting, "Reducto," her beam was joined by two others before it ricocheted off the thick hide of the snake.

"We missed," Harry groaned.

"It's coming again," Ginny said. But this time they didn't have enough time to dive, seeing no other option they resorted to the only defence they had left.

"Protego," three voices screamed simultaneously before a bright blue shield formed in front of them. The shield seemed to hold just for a moment before it cracked under the sheer power of the great snake.

Harry and the girls were thrown back due to the magical backlash caused by the breaking of the shield effectively knocking the wind out of them, but they were still alive due to that.

Harry and the girls were just about getting up when they noticed a flickering shadow. Acting on complete instinct they once again rolled out of the way just barely escaping the jaws of the Basilisk.

"How do we kill this blasted thing?" Harry asked.

"No one said it was going to be easy," Ginny panted.

"Luna any bright ideas," Harry turned to Luna.

"Only one. Destroy the roof on top of it," Luna answered.

"But it moves extremely fast," Ginny objected.

"Then we just have to time it right, DUCK," Luna screamed the end of the sentence as the Basilisk was almost upon them again. A moment after there was a giant hole in the pillar behind them.

"Okay then on the count of three we aim there," Harry said pointing to a weakened section of the roof due to the constant thrashing of the Basilisk.

Harry watched as the silhouette of the basilisk rapidly approached the marked section.

"THREE, NOW," Harry screamed before shouting the blasting hex, the beam entwined with two others fired by Ginny and Luna before it struck the section immediately collapsing it on top of the Basilisk.

For a few seconds it looked like they had succeeded before the basilisk emerged from the rubble hissing angrily.

"Oh come on what will it take to kill this thing," Harry groaned before once again starting to run.

Half an hour had already passed since the basilisk had started chasing them and they had yet to find a way to kill that thing. By some odd luck they had yet to be injured save for a few cuts and bruises but they didn't believe that their luck would last much longer.

"Hey I have got an idea," Ginny said suddenly.

"What?" Harry asked distractedly as they dodged another deadly attack by the Basilisk, saving their life by just a thread.

"The falling debris," Ginny said.

"Huh?" Harry asked confused as he looked at the rubble falling around them due to the constant collision of the basilisk with the architecture.

"We repel the rocks at the basilisk, hopefully some will hit him in the eye," Ginny explained.

"But we'll need a lot of rubble for that," Harry argued, "Not to mention it will take a lot of magic to throw these rocks,"

"And we have both of them," Luna answered, "Between the three of us, I think we can manage it."

"Okay on the count of three then," Harry said as he took his position looking at the ground where a lot of rubble was scattered. The basilisk was getting up from his latest collision with the column, "I'll levitate the rocks together you two throw them with full power at the basilisk."

The girls nodded and took their position. Harry concentrated all of his power that he could muster, pointing his wand at the debris lying around them and screamed.

"WINGARDIUM LEVIOSA," immediately the large rocks started moving and levitating in the air. It was all that Harry could manage to keep them in the air.

The girls watched cautiously as the basilisk rapidly approached. Just as it was almost upon them they cast a spell with all their power.

"EXPULSO,"

Like a lightning had flashed, the rocks surged forward and hit the basilisk. Some crashed in the walls and the pillars destroying them in the process.

The basilisk gave a painful scream as it started writhing. Harry and the girls hesitatingly looked up only to see blood spurting from both of the eyes of the basilisk and from some parts of its body.

"Yes," Harry said pumping his fist into the air. Ginny and Luna too looked happy at this feat.

Too busy celebrating this minor victory, they didn't notice as the tail of the basilisk approached in its agony. Before they could notice, it hit Harry right in the shoulder, sending him crashing into the pillar.

"HARRY," Ginny and Luna screamed as they watched Harry slump down the column.

They ran to him, hoping that nothing happened to him.

"Harry, Harry are you alright?" Ginny asked shaking him.

Harry winced as Ginny shook his shoulder. She immediately retracted her hand before tentatively reaching out to touch it again.

"His shoulder is dislocated," Ginny murmured to Luna as she softly caressed the dislocated shoulder.

"Can he move," Luna asked, her eyes fixed on the constantly thrashing Basilisk, who was just calming down.

"I think but he is barely conscious,"

"_Sniff them out," _A voice rang out in the chamber.

Ginny and Luna watched as the large snake straightened itself before putting its nose to the air. Next moment it was coming right at them.

Ginny and Luna braced themselves for impact as the basilisk nearly flew at them.

"PROTEGO," their two voices shouted as a large pale blue almost transparent shield appeared in front of Harry and the girls. The basilisk collided it with full force, breaking the shield once again but getting diverted in the process.

It looked like all had went well for a moment but it was not to be as the tail of the basilisk struck Ginny right in her stomach leaving a gash in its wake.

"GINNY," Luna screamed, "Not you too."

"It's fine Luna," Ginny said weakly," Come on let's get Harry up the basilisk is getting up again."

"I am up," Harry rasped from behind. The girls turned to find Harry shakily trying to get up.

Harry slowly moved towards the girls before stopping and surveying the basilisk which was sniffing them out again.

"Looks like we can't run anymore," Harry stated as he took in Ginny's state who was holding her stomach with one hand and with the other firmly gripping her wand, "I think it's time for our final attack."

Ginny and Luna nodded grimly before standing resolutely beside Harry their wands ready, looking at the basilisk who was just about ready to launch at them again.

Harry and the girls waited as the basilisk, as fast as lightning came at them, his jaw opened as he wanted to swallow all three of them together.

The three friends raised their wands together pouring all their power in one last spell. The three voices mixed into one to shout one word together.

"DIFFINDO,"

The three beams travelled for a short distance before they entwined, illuminating the whole chamber for a split second, combining into one powerful spell which struck the basilisk right in the middle of its jaw.

Time seemed to stand still as the extremely powerful cutting curse passed through the basilisk mouth and struck the column behind shattering it into pieces.

As the column was being destroyed, the upper jaw of the basilisk sliced off neatly, before the body of the basilisk struck the ground right in front of Harry, Ginny and Luna.

They had done it.

Together they had managed to do what most accomplished wizards couldn't.

They had defeat the King of the snakes.

But Harry, Ginny and Luna knew that their work was not done. Far from it, they still had to take care of the sixteen year old Tom, who was possessing the body of Percy Weasley, before he managed to return to life.

"So what now," Ginny asked panting, "We don't have much power left."

"I have an idea," Luna stated, "I am the only one still uninjured. I'll try to take the diary since Tom seems to be connected to the diary while you two try to distract him. We'll use the basilisk venom since I don't think we have enough power left to destroy something like the diary."

"Seems like a good plan," Harry said, "Come on Ginny, let's go and give Luna some time."

Ginny nodded and started walking slowly with Harry towards where Tom was standing.

In a few short seconds they had reached where Percy and Tom were, the latter looking more solid than before.

"You three continue to amaze me," Tom stated with a smile, "I really had hoped that basilisk would be able to hold you off till I return to life but you surprised me."

"We expected that Tom, since you were never much of a good of a wizard," Harry stated with a smirk.

But Tom just continued smiling, "Ah trying to provoke me. I wonder, are you two trying to distract me from that little friend of yours trying to steal the diary, REDUCTO," Tom stated the last part while aiming his wand towards a darkened corner of the chamber.

The spell seemed to ricochet off a shield before Luna came into view.

"Really is that the best that you can do. It would be clear to anyone with half of a brain that the third one would be hiding if he knows that there are three of you and yet only two shows up," Tom stated as he idly twirled his wand, "I still need a little bit more time so why don't I finish off you three in the meantime," Tom continued.

"How about we destroy you before that," Harry challenged aiming his wand at the now almost solid future Dark Lord, "Stupefy."

But the spell just sailed through Tom like he wasn't even there.

A deep laugh came out of Tom, "You see that's the advantage of being ethereal, you cannot hit me but I sure can," with that Tom cast a spell that Harry and Ginny didn't recognize. It clashed with a hastily erected shield and bounced off, but not before severely damaging the shield.

Casting just this shield charm had taken a lot out of our heroes, but their mission was accomplished. As out of the corner of their eyes, they saw Luna, even after being detected, managed to sneak past Tom and get the diary that was lying over Percy.

"Looks like the next spell would finish you off. Shame really, I wanted to play with you a little bit longer," said Tom.

"Oh I don't know," Harry answered as he saw, just out of the corner of his eye, Luna reaching the body of the basilisk, "That will depend on whether you are able to cast the next spell or not."

At that precise moment Luna stabbed the diary on the bare fang of basilisk. A huge surge of power came out of the diary throwing Luna back.

Tom gave an unearthly scream before his body ripped itself apart till not a shred of him remained.

Ginny and Harry hurried, as much as they could, towards Luna who was beginning to get up.

"That blast didn't get you, did it?" Ginny asked concerned for her long-time friend.

"No, I was able to escape the nobble wobblers, barely," Luna said as she dusted off her clothes, reverting to her normal self.

As the three friends were standing basking in their latest victory they heard a groan, remembering that they still had a person to rescue they hurried to Percy's side.

"Harry, Luna, Ginevra wh….Ow," Percy said trying to hold onto his shin which was just now ruthlessly kicked by a fiery redhead.

"Ginny calm down he is still weak," Harry said.

"He should have thought of that before saying my full name, he knows I hate it," Ginny replied seething.

"It's not like he was thinking, now come on help me get him up," Harry said before putting the arm of a now half-conscious Percy around himself.

Ginny grudgingly nodded and helped Luna in taking the other shoulder.

"Are you sure you should be carrying him," Ginny asked after seeing Harry hiss in pain.

"I am alright it's nothing compared to that gash," Harry said nodding towards the wound on her stomach which had turned purple.

"It doesn't hurt that much," Ginny answered with a grimace.

"Okay then, you two ready?" Harry said to his friends. After receiving a nod he slowly started moving forward.

A short trek through bones later, they were standing in front of pipe from which they came, the impaled diary in Luna's hand.

"So how do you think we are going up?" Harry asked to his best friends.

…..

Gilderoy Lockhart was sneaking through the corridors of Hogwarts, his luggage in tow, trying to avoid detection by anybody. As soon as it was confirmed that the one who had been taken down to the chamber was Percy Weasley, a sixth year prefect, the board of governors had finally intervened giving the teachers one day to find the chamber or the next day Hogwarts would be closed permanently. The current headmistress had immediately dispatched the teacher in search of the missing student. Instead of finding the missing students, the teachers had only discovered, to their horror, three more student missing. Lockhart would be damned if he was going to stay at such a dangerous place a moment longer than he had to. He could make something up later on to appease the people. That was his strong point after all; making things up to fit the circumstances besides the memory charms.

As he passed the second floor girl's bathroom, he heard some voices coming from within. Curious as to what could be happening inside, since the bathroom was said to be haunted, he peeked inside. The scene that he saw inside shocked him. Not only the three missing students were there but Percy Weasley, the person taken to the chamber was also there.

Fate was too kind to him. Gilderoy decided as he prepared to go inside, his wand ready but hidden just outside of view.

…..

"Ooohhh,"

Harry groaned as he looked at the first person after coming out of the chamber, which just happened to be Gilderoy Lockhart.

"It's alright Harry," Ginny said sympathetically, "Look on the brighter side, it could have been Snape."

"I really don't know which one I would have preferred," Harry replied miserably as he looked at Lockhart who had moved close by now, too close according to Harry's opinion.

"Harry my boy," Lockhart exclaimed jovially as he completely ignored the presence of the other three, giving his best charming smile and put a hand on Harry's shoulder.

"Looks like you have another adventure to your name eh?" Lockhart winked at him.

"I don't know about that," Harry said while shrugging off the hand of Lockhart who momentarily frowned at him before his trademark smile came back, "I think it was a team effort."

"Of course Harry, I know it was a team effort," seriously Harry was getting tired of the smiling face of Lockhart, "But every team needs a good leader don't they?"

"I guess," Harry said reluctantly hoping to get the blubbering buffoon out of his way as soon as he can, "Now professor if you will excuse me, we need to take care of Percy," Harry finished while trying to move forward.

Suddenly Lockhart's arm moved and his wand was pointed right at the four of them.

Harry blinked trying to process this change in attitude. It took only a moment for the situation to sink in.

"Really Professor," Harry said tiredly, "If you needed to take credit of the adventure that badly all you needed to do was ask."

"Huh?" Lockhart blinked, not really understanding what Harry was saying.

"I mean Professor," Harry continued, "even you would have understood by now that I am not a big fan of my fame, so if you want to take credit for rescuing Percy go ahead I won't mind."

"Really," Lockhart replied, his eyes as wide as saucers trying to comprehend the situation, "You would let me take credit just like that no strings attached?"

"Nah, Just kidding," Harry replied blowing a raspberry at him, "Why would I want someone as idiotic as you to take credit for what I have done."

"Why you?" Lockhart flew into a rage, "I'll wipe your very existence from your mind."

Lockhart once again levelled his wand at them in the blink of an eye which had slackened somewhat after hearing Harry's declaration and shouted with all his strength, "Obliviate."

The next thing Harry and his friends knew there was a spell rapidly approaching them, but Harry just shrugged his shoulders and side stepped. The spell flew past him and impacted the mirror behind them before ricocheting and hitting Lockhart square in his forehead.

Lockhart didn't even had time to scream as his own extremely powerful memory charm struck him, causing him to fly backwards and crash into the sinks.

"I hope I didn't cause him permanent harm," Harry said nonchalantly.

"Or reversed some previous harm," Ginny added.

"Oh well. Come on let's get to Professor McGonagall's room, we don't want an angry cat now do we," Luna added her own two knuts before starting to move.

"Err, what about him?" Harry asked jerking a thumb towards where Lockhart now laid unconscious.

"Nonsense Harry," Luna replied, "We can't carry him too, we'll tell McGonagall about him and she will send someone to take him."

"Okay," Harry said shrugging his shoulders. It's not like he cared about Lockhart much anyway.

A short trek found themselves standing in front of Professor McGonagall's office. Upon knocking, the door was opened to reveal the face of Professor McGonagall in distress which quickly changed into Shock and then morphed into hidden joy on seeing her four lost students and then again into shock on seeing how injured they were.

"Come in fast, you two are injured," Professor McGonagall said, quite worried about her students.

"Thank you Professor," Harry answered gratefully before moving in through the open doorway.

It looked like Professor McGonagall had quite a meeting going on. The room was occupied by not only her, but Professor Dumbledore and Arthur Weasley also. The latter of which looked quite happy to see his daughter.

"Ginny," Arthur said before rapidly moving towards her and hugging her tightly, Ginny winced at her wound being touched.

"You are hurt," Arthur exclaimed, Harry didn't want to sound insensitive, so he refrained from commenting, but he thought that was quite obvious.

"Come on, I'll take you to Madame Pomfrey," Arthur said grabbing Ginny's hand.

"Dad wait," Ginny protested.

"Arthur," at the same time Professor Dumbledore spoke up from the desk, his eyes as always twinkling in that strange way.

Arthur turned to look at Dumbledore annoyingly.

"What is it Professor?" His voice was thin like he was just about to lose his calm.

"Arthur," the only response to Arthur's tone was an increase in the twinkling of his eyes, "While I am perfectly aware of Miss Weasley's and Mr Potter's injuries, they do need to stay here in order to recount the tale of how they managed to save young Mr Weasley here."

"But," Arthur began to protest but Dumbledore held up his hand to stop him.

"I can understand the situation Arthur, I am no heartless beast. But the severity of the situation has my hands tied. I cannot very well let them go without confirming whether the threat is truly gone or not."

"It's alright Dad, it's not that bad," Ginny smiled at her Dad to reassure him, but he seemed far from being placated.

"How can it not be bad?" Arthur protested, "Just look at that wound!"

"I'll be fine," Ginny too was a persistent stubborn girl.

"Arthur, please try to understand the severity of the situation here," Dumbledore pressed.

Under relentless attacks from two sides, finally Arthur caved under the pressure and sat down on his chair, though not a word escaped from his mouth.

Finally able to placate Arthur, Dumbledore now turned towards the three prodigious students standing in front of him, particularly the one for whom he had great expectations, "Now then Mr Potter please enlighten us as to how you managed to accomplish this improbable feat?"

And thus Harry began recounting their tale, aided by Luna and Ginny, he explained how they blindly stumbled upon the secrets of the heir and by sheer luck managed to defeat him, their dishevelled appearance and their wounds only adding further credence to their story. With minds as secure as the strongest fortress, they were sure that Dumbledore would have no choice but to believe them.

And believe he did. Not even in his wildest imagination, could Dumbledore think that the three students standing in front of him had already mastered the most difficult art of Occlumency, and perhaps their mental shields even rivalled his, that is if they had already not surpassed him.

As Dumbledore prepared to pose questions to the three youngsters, the door slammed open. The inhabitants of the room turned themselves only to find themselves face to face with Lucius Malfoy.

But he was not the only one Harry and the girls had noticed. Right out of the corner of their eyes, they had seen a strange creature with big dopey eyes, long fingers and ears that could almost cover both sides of its face walking in the shadow of its master, making as much effort as possible to not be noticed by anyone.

Harry instantly recognized the strange creature. It was Dobby, the house elf who had warned him and concurrently tried to kill him.

To find the diminutive house elf in such close proximity to the Malfoy Sr. there was only one conclusion to which he could arrive.

The deduction was complete in less than a second, in which Malfoy turned to Dumbledore, utterly ignoring the several occupants of room, not even considering them worthy of a glance. Though, not much doubt remained in the first place, of who owned the house elf after the incident in the infirmary.

"Dumbledore," The voice Lucius spoke in was gruff and cold, as if showing his displeasure, "How dare you return to Hogwarts when the Board of Governor had specifically forbidden you from ever setting foot in this castle? Were the lives of those students not enough? Do you require even more blood to sate your thirst?"

In front of this well executed speech, Dumbledore smiled in response before answering.

"Ah Lucius, looks like your information is a tad bit out of date,"

"What do you mean Dumbledore?" Lucius asked coolly, keeping his irritation hidden under a guise of calmness, like a true politician.

Dumbledore steepled his fingers under his chin and calmly stared at Lucius. For his part, Lucius did not seem deterred at all. The staring continued on for a few minutes before Dumbledore answered.

"After the news of the student abduction by the heir reached the board, they were forced to call me back. I for one am just glad they realized their error with this happening."

"Why was I not informed of this?" Lucius demanded.

"Being an outsider, I am not privy to the happening of the board meetings," Dumbledore's answer was simple.

Lucius could only grit his teeth in reply.

"Well I sure hope you find the unfortunate student alive," Lucius said.

"I am sure you will be delighted to know that the said student is very much alive albeit in need of healing thanks to the three brave souls here," Dumbledore replied his eyes twinkling madly.

For a second, his permanent mask cracked as Lucius swiftly turned his neck to look at the three youngsters. Though it was back in place only a moment later, the shock replaced by a cold, impassive look, with barely any discernible emotions on his face.

"Very well then," Lucius started in a composed voice belying the emotional turmoil he was going through inside, "I shall take my leave now, my duties lay elsewhere."

With that Lucius swiftly turned, his refined robes flowing behind him as he marched out of the room, Dobby timidly trailing behind him.

Noticing Dobby, suddenly Harry had a flash of inspiration, whispering to Ginny to wait here, he quickly darted outside.

Ginny didn't even have a chance to nod as she watched Harry go outside. The wait proved to be a short one, as Harry returned with a look of accomplishment on his face.

Dumbledore didn't have a chance to interrogate them further as Professor McGonagall intervened urging the need for them to visit the infirmary.

Under the intense stare of his Transfiguration Professor even Dumbledore wilted as he allowed the four to be taken to a much needed visit to Madame Pomfrey.

At the very least he was able to extract the diary for some much needed investigation. The diary had intrigued him for quite some time and finally it was time for him to check.

Before they had left the room, a thought flash in the mind of Harry Potter.

"Ah, yes Professor," Harry said turning towards Dumbledore, "You might want to check the bathroom of the Moaning Myrtle, you might find a mad Professor there."

And with that, all of them were gone, leaving Dumbledore to contemplate the meaning of Harry's phrase.

…..

Harry and Ginny were patched up by Madame Pomfrey in no time at all, though they would be spending the night in the infirmary. During the treatment Madame Pomfrey had tried to send Luna out but she had quite bluntly turned her down. Madame Pomfrey had persisted in her demands for her to go out but Luna just continued to stare at her. Finally giving up, Madame Pomfrey proceeded to heal Harry and Ginny.

Harry and Ginny were sitting in their respective beds with Luna in a chair between them. The topic of discussion was expectedly, the events in the Chamber of Secret.

"What intrigued me the most was the way Riddle possessed Percy. I mean how was he able to control Percy when he is not even here?" Harry asked.

"I don't think current Voldemort had anything to do with this" Ginny said thoughtfully.

"What?" Harry asked thoroughly confused at this assumption.

"I think Ginny is right," Luna replied to Harry's befuddlement in Ginny's stead.

"How so?" Harry queried.

"This Riddle, he didn't know of how he died. Moreover he looked like a sixteen year old boy. He was too easily distracted to be a dark lord. Remember, even Professor McGonagall was hesitant to fight against him in his spectral form. Frankly if it was the real Dark Lord, then I don't think we would have been able to sit here talking like this." Luna summarized.

"But then it would mean that it was some kind of enchantment, a failsafe in case he died," Harry replied, "That is quite troublesome."

"Yeah, I mean if he can make something like that then he is literally immortal. No matter how many times we defeat him, he would be able to come back, by possessing someone else." Ginny showed her own concern on the matter."

"I don't think something like this can be made freely," Luna shook her head, "Everything has a price and a limit, no matter how strong a person is, there is just so much that he can do to push the boundaries for himself, even he would hit his limit one day and the price would become too much."

"Even then, how are we supposed to know that limit?" Harry said exasperatedly, "We don't even know what kind of spell or enchantment Voldemort used."

"Maybe not now," Luna answered smiling, "But one day we will."

"Yes," Ginny nodded her head vigorously, "As long as we are together, we'll be able to solve any problem, no matter how complex it is."

…

The very next day after being released from the infirmary prison, the three attended the breakfast. Mr. Weasley had come to visit his daughter and son. He seemed quite worried for both of them. Percy had woken up late at night, till then Mr. Weasley spent the time extracting every bit of detail about the chamber from the three of them. They had told him as honestly as they could, feeling bad that they had to lie to such a good man, still though not trusting Dumbledore to not go digging where he shouldn't. Mr. Weasley though seemed satisfied by the answers. After Percy had woken up, he had spent a considerable time alone with him before emerging from behind the curtain, worry lining his whole face, afterwards, he had taken his leave from the three of them and went back to the Burrow, Percy once again fast asleep. Madame Pomfrey had surmised that it would take him some time before the trauma of what happened would wear of.

As the three best friends sat down to eat, they noticed the bright coloured house banners fluttering in magical wind. It had been quite a long time since these banners were coloured. Constant deaths of students had quite a significant effect on the hall, the teachers not wanting to dishonour the memory of the dead, had kept the banners black. They looked up to find Dumbledore, sitting once again at the high backed chair of the headmaster, his eyes twinkling in the same manner. As the students filtered in, the three friends could read the shock and hope that was etched into the faces of the students on seeing the return of Dumbledore.

As expected when the hall was almost full, Dumbledore rose up to give the news of the destruction of the heir. Somehow no rumours had spread about the chamber. An odd event, considering how fast students knew about things that they shouldn't know.

Harry and girls listened with only half an ear to what Dumbledore was saying. They already knew what he was going to say, plus the breakfast sounded much more appealing to them than whatever Dumbledore was saying. This half-heartedness was not shared by the rest of the student body though. The news was received with great applause by the student body, with lots of cheers.

…..

The rest of the year flew by in a haze of study and fun for the three friends. They never forgot their purpose, nor did it escape their mind to have fun. Soon the end of year was upon them and they were packing their things for the summer vacations. The exam results mirrored the last one with Luna once again at the top, followed closely by Ginny and Harry. Their private practice did pay off in their studies. They had already finished OWL level courses and were just beginning to brush up on the NEWTS course. All that aside, they were now facing vacations and those weren't something any of them particularly enjoyed. Though they weren't ones who let something like this get in their way. They believed to get the most out of the time they had.

So it was a fun ride that the three enjoyed with each other. Even closer than usual, knowing they won't be seeing each other for quite some time. Malfoy did try to butt in but he was brushed aside like an insect scraped from the floor. Their compartment was full of laughter and happiness radiated from the three of them. Occasionally Luna would go off on some strange tangent, prompting even more laughter from her two friends. All through the ride, they made up ridiculous stories, poked fun at each other, and made fun of particularly nasty aspects of their life. It was like they were trying to make up for the time in which they wouldn't be together.

All too soon for the liking of the three friends, the train ride came to an end. The train slowly halted at the platform from where two of them would go one way and the other one on his own.

"Well, we are here," Ginny commented, seeing the platform come into view. Her voice hid the disappointment that she was feeling.

It hid it too well, the other two decided.

"I guess, I'll see you soon, you know time flies by," Harry tried to comfort Ginny in his own way.

"It won't be soon enough," Suddenly Ginny snapped, taken aback, Harry looked at Ginny's face. There in her eyes were the unmistakable sign of tears.

"Ginny what happened? I am not going away forever you know," Harry said really worried for her.

"Nothing," Ginny answered angrily swiping at her eyes, the tears threatening to spill.

"You know I'll try to write as much as I can, besides you have Luna too, so please don't cry," Harry pleaded. He really didn't know what to do, it was the first time Ginny had behaved as such.

In the next instant, Harry was engulfed in a tight hug by Ginny, he wanted to choke out that he couldn't breathe, but something in Ginny's demeanour held his tongue.

"I am going to really miss you," Ginny muttered, and before he could answer or even wave her good bye she was gone, leaving a fazed Harry behind.

"Err, what was that about?" Harry said, finally coming out the dazed state, to Luna.

But Luna just smiled and shook her head, enveloping Harry in a hug of her own, "That's for you to figure out."

Releasing Harry she waved good bye and then she too was gone from the compartment leaving a confused Harry behind.

The last thing he heard was a barely audible mutter, not something he was meant to hear, Harry surmised.

"Boys will be boys."

…

On the night of that same day, when a bright moon was shining and the light of the stars shimmered, giving the night a beautiful glow, in a house far away, in a little room a figure sat in a huddle, the darkness in the room hid the figure well, even then, his hunched posture was somehow visible. It was as if that figure was cloaked in an aura darker than the blackness of the room and the night itself. Its eyes would occasionally turn red before reverting to a soulless brown. If one would draw closer, he could see the form rocking back and forth and an almost audible word coming in a whisper. Same word repeated again and again as if he was an addict begging to be given his relief.

"Revenge, Revenge, Revenge,"

That was the mantra of the figure. Suddenly the eyes snapped, the soulless look was replaced by a sharpness that would make even a veteran sweat their brows. It rose up from its place, its pitch black aura following it, replacing the weak darkness of the night with one far stronger and far more tempting. It moved towards one corner of the room, there in a cage sat a rat, as if sensing the darkness that approached him, the rat began to scurry around the cage, trying but failing to find a route of escape. As the figure drew ever closer, the rat backed away to one corner. The figure was upon the rat now and the rat had retreated into the farthest corner of the cage, his whimpering echoing ominously in the silence of the room, the bright eyes visible, fear in those eyes even more so. And then a voice came, as if a thousand snakes were hissing together.

"_Whoever you are, you will do nicely,"_

…


	13. Chapter 13

**A/N: Hello People! I am back. Well not so much regularly back. It has been a long time so as to show you people that I am not dead, I have decided to give you people a little sneak peak into Year 3. Mind you, this little sneak peak is actually the whole first chapter of summer before year 3. There are some expected things, and you can say some unexpected things. As for the Year 3, I am still working on it. If you want to see how much the story's done, just drop by my profile. I will regularly update my progress. By the way, Don't expect any other chapter anytime soon. If I have to hazard a guess, then it might be a month or so before I am anywhere near finish with the year. Though, you can expect a pretty long year. Also, this little chapter is not beta'ed. As one would expect, my beta readers, ran away, though who can blame them? So if any one else want to volunteer, I am free, that is desperately free for a beta reader. Oh, and a Happy Ramadan to my Muslim readers! Now without further ado, Chapter 13. **

Chapter 13

Another summer and Harry was back at his miserable life with the Dursleys. Not so miserable though when they were constantly afraid of your magic, still every day spent was a day consumed in hell. He had made sure to stock up on his books before coming, so he was not bored at the least, yet there is just so much that a young person can read before he became fed up. Not to mention Harry was missing his friends, already, and it was not even a week since he returned from Hogwarts.

Laying in the crumpled mattress, Harry's thought turned to the last year. It was a year spent amidst speculation, interrogation, detection and the shadow of fear. Not much like the year before. They had lost some students, and Harry was not yet heartless enough not to feel their loss, even if he didn't know them personally.

He had to admit though, thought Harry, as he turned on the mattress and stared out the window, the sun shining in its complete radiance, there were more than a few occasion when he was afraid. Not for his own life but for the life of his friends. They meant too much to him to lose them so easily. More than a few times he had thought to give it up, the path they were travelling too dangerous and them too valuable, but he had shaken those thought, he knew Ginny and Luna wouldn't let him give up on his desire so easily, They had sworn to stand by his side, through thick and thin, to be his sword, not an obstacle in his way. Besides they were too far gone to turn back then. They knew they were the only ones who could stop the heir and that they did.

Though destroying the heir had come with its own perks though, in an interesting discussion with Luna, he was enlightened to his rights to the deceased Basilisk that lay rotting in the darkness of the chamber of Secret. Not so much as his rights but theirs, since all three of them had finished the Basilisk together. The idea was appealing. Basilisks were a rarity in world and the ingredients harvested from their body had a great market. Knowing this, he immediately wrote to the Goblins, negotiating a price with them on the body of the Basilisk.

The amount agreed was a sizable one, more than enough for all three of them. The only problem being that Ginny didn't had an account and Harry didn't want to transfer it to the Weasley family account. That money belonged to her only.

The solution was more than simple enough, Arthur was happy to open a separate trust vault for his beloved daughter in which the money went, but the thorn in the side was Molly Weasley.

She had made a miraculous recovery and was deemed healthy enough to return to the normal life, though she had taken a turn for the worse it would seem. Thankfully, the time away from her, had prompted Arthur to somehow grow a spine and it would look like he could handle her.

Although the problem still was not solved. Then another solution presented itself, or rather suggested by Luna. As the heir of an ancient pureblood family, Harry could set up another vault for anyone, thus a Vault in Ginny's name was set up under the Potter family and all the money went there. Ginny seemed happy enough with the arrangement. Harry just was content with the notion that Ginny now had more than enough money to spend on herself and more than a few supporter in her house too.

Thinking about Ginny's situation brought the current situation to his mind, him being stuck with the Dursleys and his watchers watching every one of his moves. Indeed, the watchers had returned with his summer vacations. With them watching he couldn't even practice his magic freely, lest he would give something away, whose time to be revealed was not yet at hand. So he had turned to another one of his skills to practice, aura sensing.

It was a skill the three had discovered during one of the training session. The first one to awaken it was Ginny, not so much as awaken but rather unconsciously master the hidden form of magic. Intrigued, they had turned towards the best source of knowledge they had, The Room of Requirement. As always, the room had not failed his users and a book detailing the magic appeared. The skill was a vague one, shrouded and lost through the centuries. A skill that allowed one to sense the presence of anything remotely magical. Not only that, but it also allowed one to measure the capacity of one's core. Ginny had explained that both of them had a distinct colour when she envisioned them, colours she can't explain but she knew that they were different and somehow which colour belonged to whom. Not only that but that the colours were bright, almost blinding. Which only spoke of their high magical capacity. Not long after, Harry and Luna learned the skill too. And then they too knew why Ginny couldn't describe the colours. The colours belonged to Human soul, they have learned from the book, a soul was an object beyond the imagination of humans and thus it's colours couldn't be perceived by human mind, The only thing they could decipher, was the presence of the distinction without ever learning what was the difference.

Harry closed his eyes while lying there and willed his magic to spread all around him in a thin web weaving through obstacles, trying to find any source of magic. He pushed it beyond the limit he had mastered in Hogwarts, trying to make it stronger. He was confident in his non-discovery. This was a wandless magic, undetected by ministry and didn't leave any signs so his watchers couldn't detect it. Finally when he couldn't push it anymore he returned to his true purpose. There his watcher was, lit like a beacon in the middle of his mind, an undecipherable yet distinct colour to his aura. Harry concentrated on the aura, trying to learn what he can through his aura reading, once again pushing his limits. The aura was a bright one. Its owner was strong, Harry concluded, but nothing else revealed itself about the watcher. After trying to read the aura for a few more minutes, Harry gave up and was about to retreat from his mind when he detected a faint aura at the end of his field, quickly he once again spanned it, but he was too late, and whatever it was, was gone now. Chalking it up to his over use of the skill he retreated from his mind and decided to go down to eat something.

…..

And thus Harry began spending his days, reading books and learning about his watchers. He learned little, except the numbers of them and their strength. Some of them were particularly strong, Harry would even guess seasoned fighter but half of them were just normal, with nothing special about them. He had counted around nine people keeping a watch on him, all on different intervals, except for one who used to come around almost daily. He looked to be the weakest one of them and Harry had no idea why he came so frequently when others would only drop by occasionally. It meant little to him though, since he considered all the watchers to be equal and remained equally cautious about them.

Whenever he would go out now, he could feel the presence of his watchers, sharp eyes watching his every move, their existence a constant warning at the back of his mind, though he would act normal.

As he sat at the only unbroken swing in the whole park, he was surprised for a moment when he couldn't feel the sharp eyes, but then realization dawned on him about the current watcher. It could be the weaker one.

Harry just shrugged his shoulders, he couldn't care less about the watcher. His eyes turned towards the particularly bright sun today. The sun somehow reminded him of Ginny's smile. His lips quirked instinctively as he thought about the radiant smile of Ginny Weasley.

Instantly his thoughts were interrupted by the breaking of the twig. He whirled around, crouched low, ready to curse anyone who he deemed dangerous, uncaring of the consequences, though he didn't need to. The only thing that came out of the thicket of the trees was a dog, extremely frail, his bones showing clearly through the skin and the thin fur, an unnatural gleam in his eyes. It was as if the dog hadn't eaten for days.

Instantly Harry's heart softened and he stood up, remembering his own days of the starvation. Slowly he plodded towards the dog, staring at the eyes of the dog. He felt a strange connection to the dog, drawn to him somehow. He took in the frail appearance of the dog and instantly made a decision.

"Wait here, I'll be back soon," Harry said softly, as if trying not to startle the beast.

The next instant Harry was up and nearly flying towards the number four Privet Drive, his well-practiced legs carrying him effortlessly. In a short few minutes, he was at the door of the house that he loathed to call home, not even breathing hardly. He opened the door and immediately went towards the kitchen. What he wanted was some meat and milk for the dog. Opening the fridge revealed some beef and a few cartons of milk. He grabbed them and was about to go out when he was confronted by Petunia.

"What are you doing?" Petunia demanded looking at the meat and milk in the hand of the boy.

Harry shrugged his shoulder, deciding to have a little fun on Petunia's expense.

"I am going to eat them," Harry replied, barely keeping the evil smile from showing.

"What? All of it?" his aunt exclaimed, "And the meat's raw too."

This time the evil smile did show, "Of course, didn't I tell you, if I don't eat the meat raw once in a week, my _magic _might go berserk."

Harry put special emphasis on the word magic. It had the intended effect and Petunia went deathly pale. To make his point sink further, Harry took a little piece of the meat and made a great show of putting it in his mouth. Fortunately before he had to put the piece in his mouth, his aunt bolted from the Kitchen. Harry just grinned and moved out of the door. As he was opening the front door of the house, he could hear the voice of someone retching. Harry just smiled in satisfaction.

Deciding that he had more than enough fun for today, he started moving towards the park in fast strides, hoping the dog was still there. So focused was he on the dog that he inadvertently activated his aura sensing. Immediately the area where he left the dog was lit like a beacon in his mind.

In his shock, Harry almost dropped the supplies he was holding, gathering his wits just in time. He stood there frozen for what seemed like eternity but was only a few short seconds. Slowly his brain started functioning again. Who could it be, Harry pondered.

In the end Harry decided that standing here brain storming would accomplish nothing, if he wanted to find out who was the dog animagus he had to confront him head on. Fortunately or unfortunately, Harry couldn't decide, the guard was still the same. He cautiously moved towards where the dog was, finding him sitting exactly where he had left him. The indescribable feeling that Harry felt before came back once again in full force. It was as if Harry knew who this dog was. He shook his head to clear out such thoughts, only focusing on the task at the hand. Gingerly he approached the dog and laid the supplied before him.

As the dog tore into the meat with gusto, Harry cautiously removed his wand from the inner pocket. He didn't think he would need his wand to deal with whoever the dog was, the sight of him wandless would have been enough to put the suspected enemy in relaxed state but he wanted to keep his wandless magic secret so he brought out his wand silently.

The dog after completely eating the meat turned towards the bowl with milk and drank it in one gulp. He looked up to thank his benefactor only to find a wand levelled at him.

Harry could read the surprise in the dog's eyes.

"Who are you?" Harry demanded, "Reveal yourself right now."

The surprise in the dog's eyes intensified at being caught so easily.

"If you don't reveal yourself I am going to stun you right now," Harry warned, a dangerous glint in his eyes.

Seeing no other option, the dog nodded with great reluctance as if he really didn't want to reveal himself.

Harry stood his ground, ready to curse at the first sign of danger. The transformation was instantaneous and just where a dog was standing a moment ago now stood a tall lanky man, in the same shape as the dog, his eyes hollow, his beard unkempt, as if unshaved for months or even years, his skin pale and flaky as if it would fall off at the first contact.

But the thing that caught Harry's eyes was the face of the man. There was something similar about that face. Harry was sure he had seen that face before. Suddenly, like a lightning had flashed, Harry's mind went to the end of first year when Hagrid had given to him a photo album as a memoir of his parents. Harry remembered staring at each photo for a long time. And in some of those photos there was a man, just as tall as the man as the man standing before him, his hair the same as the man right in front of him. He couldn't think anymore, he knew who this man was.

"Sirius Black," it was as if the voice had come from a deep well, there was no way Harry could consider that voice his own.

The man nodded slowly as if surprised at being recognized, "Yes Harry," The voice was raspy as if he hadn't used it for ages, "Your father's best friend and your supposed Godfather." Sirius voice had a mocking tilt to the end of the sentence.

But Harry was not listening to him anymore, his mind had frozen over from the shock. He had accepted that there was no one else in this world related to him except his hated relative no one alive who would have taken him in after the death of his parents. All of them gone, dead, never to return.

Now here was one, the one who was named his Godfather, standing here in front of him, alive. Standing there like it was perfectly normal.

That was the last straw for Harry, the rage that he had suppressed for so long against his relatives, for his treatment, for the unfairness of world, it all spilled over in one giant inferno. His magic came to his calling, answering to his mounting rage, whizzing around him in strong gust of the wind, alighting his eyes in an unearthly glow. The magic didn't build up slowly around him. It was like a dam had burst over and an angry river spilled over, intent on destroying anything that came in his path.

Sirius could only stare at Harry, one moment he was standing there numb with shock and the next an explosion of magic had occurred. The magic flowing out of his godson in huge surreal waves, almost choking him. He could only look at him in amazement, at the sheer power Harry radiated at that moment.

If Sirius wasn't staring intently he would have completely missed the red light of stunner, even then he didn't had any time to duck, only move a teensy bit as the stunner flew at a speed he thought impossible and struck the tree behind him, completely obliterating it in the process. Only then did he come to realize that he was in danger. Not just the speed but the sheer power of the stunner was unfathomable.

"Harry," Sirius screamed, his voice already hoarse from the disuse for so long, "Listen to me, I am innocent."

But that only seemed to inflame Harry further.

"Innocent?" Harry screamed as he blindly threw another curse at him which Sirius once again avoided by ducking behind the tree, which once again was completely destroyed, "Innocent of What? Innocent of leaving me at the Dursleys? Innocent of not completely the duty that my parents gave to you so willingly."

Sirius could only be confused at what Harry was saying, he thought Harry knew about the murder of his parents and that's why he was throwing curses like a madman. And then he was hit hard by the words spoken by Harry. The words were true, he had abandoned his duty, had been blinded by revenge and forgot what was important. He had forsaken his best friend's son without a second thought. The guilt crashed into him tenfold. But even then there was belief in his heart.

"Believe me Harry," Sirius voice was barely above a whisper, "I would have come if I could."

Those softly spoken words seemed to have penetrated the deep fog of anger clouding Harry's mind. His anger slowly subsided as he mulled over his godfather's words. He looked towards him only to see the decrepit state he was in. This more than anything made the point sink in.

"What do you mean? Where were you?" Harry asked, bewildered at this turn of event. He thought his godfather had abandoned him, but now it looked like the truth was something else.

A sigh escaped Sirius, "Why don't we sit down? I suspect it will be a long talk."

Harry nodded his head and sat down on the soft grass, his eyes never leaving Sirius, Surprise and distrust evident in them.

For his part, Sirius sat down heavily on the soft bed of grass. He chanced a glance at Harry's face, only to find the expression he least wanted to see. He closed his eyes to ward off against the hurt. It was his own fault. A few moments later, his eyes snapped open and he began telling his story.

All through the story, Harry sat there stunned, listening to the almost unbelievable tale of one Sirius Black. For the first time, Harry learnt about the death of his parents. Of the betrayal from one of their own loyal friends. Of the terrible injustice, that was carried out on that day, for the blind ambition of a few.

If Harry thought he was angry before, than what he felt now, couldn't be described in words. It took him more than a few moments to calm down. All through, Sirius was looking at him with worry in his eyes.

"So, how do you know this Wormtail is still alive?" Harry asked, his anger subsided for now.

"Wait a minute," Sirius said, before putting his hand inside his tattered robes. Harry looked on curiously, waiting to see what it could be that Sirius would bring out. Not for a moment did he let down his guard.

When Sirius brought out his hand, an old newspaper was clutched in it. He smoothed the wrinkles before laying it down in front of him.

"You saw how I was a dog?" Sirius asked. At Harry's nod, he continued explaining, "You see, all three of us, Your Dad, I and Wormtail, became animagus to help a friend of ours during Full moon, as he was a werewolf,"

"You mean Remus Lupin," Harry guessed.

Sirius was surprised. He hadn't counted on Harry even knowing about Remus.

At Sirius look of disbelief, Harry gave a low chuckle, "I read my Parent's will when I first went to Gringotts," he explained.

"That's smart Harry," Sirius said impressed, "Not many would have thought to ask about the will of their parents."

"Not everyone lose their parents either, now continue. I guess that Wormtail is hiding as an animagus with a family, whose picture got published in Prophet and Wormtail was in it too, that's how you came to know about him." Harry said.

Sirius slowly nodded his head, astonished at the deduction, "Yes," Sirius pointed at the newspaper, "He is the rat with the missing toe."

Harry's eyes widened in surprise as he looked at the picture of Ron, his hand waving at the camera, Scabbers draped over his shoulder.

"You mean to tell me, that Wormtail was with Weasleys for all these years," Harry exclaimed.

"You know them?" Sirius said jerking a thumb towards the boy in the picture.

Harry nodded his head, "Their daughter is my best friend."

Sirius raised an eyebrow at that, though he knew it was neither the time nor the place.

"That should make it easier. I hope you trust her enough?" Sirius queried.

"Oh don't worry, I trust her more than myself. It's you who I am worried about. I have nothing but your word for your story," Harry answered nonchalantly, like they were talking about the weather.

If he thought Sirius would be hurt at that, he was sorely mistaken. A wide beaming grin wormed its way onto Sirius face.

"You truly are your parent's son."

…

As this discussion was taking place in the park of the Privet Drive, a rat was scurrying atop the stairs of an abandoned building hundreds of miles away. The steps were weary from years of disuse and mould was growing on almost every step. The whole building looked to be in shambles, with parts falling off. It looked like no one had lived here for decades or even centuries.

The rat expertly climbed the short steps to the top floor before turning into a big hall that seemed to dominate the whole of the level. Part of its wall and floor was also missing. Right in front of the missing part, stood a silhouette, basked in the bright glow of the summer sun, yet cloaked in a darkness stronger than the moonless night. On hearing the light footsteps of the rat, the figure turned, for an instance bright red eyes were revealed that seemed to be radiant with an inhumane light before they too were masked in the darkness surrounding the shadow.

"_Wormtail, you have returned," _a strange hissing sound came from the figure, yet the words he spoke were coherent.

The rat transformed into a short pudgy man, his head streaked with a few hair that were rapidly growing grey, the front teeth of the man were coming out of his mouth as if that of a rodent and his robes were in shambles. The man was shaking like a leaf in the presence of the dark figure.

"_I assume you have found what I seek_," the strange voice once again emanated from the figure.

"Y-Yes My Lord, as you expected, it lies at Hogwarts," the man answered, his teeth chattering with fear.

Suddenly a laugh reverberated from the figure, it was a laugh that would have withered even the brightly blossoming flower, a laugh that would have turned heroes into cowards. It was a laugh that would seep into your bones and chill your heart, a laugh that could give you nightmares for weeks to come. It was the laugh of a true devil.

"_Strange isn't it," _the voice once again spoke, one hand lifting, cloaked in that same nightmarish darkness, trailing a finger down the cheek of the man, wherever the finger went, it would leave a darkness stronger than the absence of light. The man flinched as if burned by the darkness.

"_Even someone as incompetent as you has its uses."_

….

Bright rays of the summer sun were falling on Hogwarts, making it look even more magnificent than usual. Perfect green grass, brilliantly trimmed, was gently swaying the in light breeze of the afternoon heat. The Hogwarts Lake, mirroring the blueness of the sky so marvellously with its crystal clear water, could make anyone squint his eyes with the light reflected as if from a polished mirror. High rise towers of Hogwarts looked as if giant guardians, protecting the castle in the midst.

In one such tower, stood an aged man, his white beard almost reaching its navel, bright blue eyes, gazing at the wondrous beauty that lies ahead of him from behind the half-moon glasses. Yet, the exquisiteness of the scenery before him was not on the mind of this wizened man.

What disturbed this man, were the gruelling events from the previous year. To be fair, the deaths of the students had disturbed him. In all his years as a headmaster, he had not once considered the possibility that he would fail to protect his charges. Yet, this had happened.

Dumbledore shook his head. They were necessary sacrifices. Nothing but a part of a bigger picture. It was necessary for them to die, for him to carry out his plans.

Yes, his plans that were completely and utterly ruined now with the death of the youngest Weasley. The thread through which he wanted to control one Harry Potter. Till now, he had resisted the urge to directly interfere. It was too great a gamble to meddle in like that. But now he had no choice.

For the last two years, he had observed the interactions between the three friends, Harry, Ginny and Luna Lovegood. He had watched as they grew closer and their friendship become more cherished to them. It was like all the time that he had spent on weaving a web of pain and loneliness around the future saviour was slowly coming undone. The whole reason, he had sent the boy to the family that hated him so much, the purpose for which he had erected those blood wards. He had even tainted his hands with dark magic in ensuring that the boy will have no friends in school. All he wanted to do was create a hero who knew the pain of loneliness, who actually knew the worth of this world and be able to cherish the small joys of this world. That's what a true hero is, that's what the world needed and there was no other way to achieve that level of strength. The greater the power is, the greater is the price you have to pay.

Even Sirius Black had escaped from Azkaban, his own vow of never killing again had backfired on him. Now Dumbledore regretted rejecting the idea of throwing him through the veil. But all was for the better, the false story that he had woven was too perfect, too strong for someone like Sirius to break down. Even then he couldn't let Sirius come in contact with young boy or his friends. They were much smarter than he had expected.

For a second, Dumbledore came out of his deep thoughts and looked at the beautiful scenery around him. The sun was still high in the sky, bathing the ground in the intense light that you so associate with the July heat, toned down a little bit by the gentle breeze that was blowing, promising the advent of rain. Leaves were lightly fluttering as if warming up for a dance. Hogwarts was truly magnificent, Dumbledore decided, as magnificent as its history.

Few people knew the reason for Hogwarts being a castle, and fewer yet knew the reason for the strong wards, strongest in whole Britain, being around a school and the people who knew the true history of Hogwarts could be counted on the fingers of one hand and there would still be fingers left. Actually, there were only two people in the whole world who knew the dark history of Hogwarts castle, Him and Voldemort.

The thought of Voldemort brought his musing back to the original purpose. Even now all was not lost, in creating such a deep friendship, Harry Potter had given him another chance to create the perfect hero for the world. It was a risky gamble, Dumbledore knew. But it was also a gamble that he needed to take, for the sake of the world. He knew all too well that it could very well lead Harry Potter down the wrong path. The darkness that would be born in his heart could prove too much for the young boy. But if he could master that darkness, then Dumbledore could have his perfect hero.

_For stronger the darkness is, _Dumbledore thought as his gaze swept up to the sweltering summer sun, _brighter a flame burns._

Not once did it cross the mind of the old saviour of the wizarding world, that the boy he intended to make his successor wouldn't want such a fate for himself.

…..

Ginny lay in her bed seemingly bored out of her mind. She didn't want to go down since her mother was right now prowling around like a mad dragon. Ever since she returned from St. Mungo's she had been prone to fits of hysteria, which greatly troubled everyone. As always one of her prime targets was Ginny, that's why she used to stay out of her way till her dad come home, since he was only one who could control her, though it was getting more and more hard to keep her in check these days which led Ginny to wonder why she was allowed to leave St. Mungo in the first place. Surely, the doctors would have been able to correctly diagnose her condition as unstable to the society. Whether they were able to or not, it looked like her dad was on wits end and was planning on sending her back to St. Mungo for further rehabilitation.

She was brought out of her musing by a sharp rapping at the window. Startled, she looked at the window to find Hedwig outside. Quickly, she got up from her bed to open the window. As soon as the window was open, Hedwig flew inside the room and settled on Ginny's shoulder, affectionately rubbing her head on her cheek.

Ginny laughed happily at the show of affection by Hedwig, before carefully removing the letter from her talons.

"Let's see what you have there," Ginny said while absentmindedly opening the letter. All through this she didn't forget to give Hedwig some owl treats, who was still sitting on her shoulder, happily gulping them.

Her eyebrows rose in surprise as she read the letter. There were some interesting revelation in it.

"Well girl, l guess it's time for us to visit Luna now," Ginny said while stroking her feather, "You can go on ahead," she continued as she stood in front of the open window.

Hedwig hooted once, before opening her wings and soaring off into the sky.

Now then, how was she to escape her mother?

….

Half an hour later found Ginny in front of the stream where she used to meet with Luna during the summer. There on the bank of stream was Luna sitting with Hedwig on her lap while she rubbed her belly.

"Do you think she's a cat?" Ginny said smirking as she came out of the bushes.

Hedwig gave a loud hoot and straightened. She glared at Ginny and gave a sharp hoot before flying away.

"Look Ginny what you did, you startled the poor girl," Luna reprimanded her gently.

"Looks like I have an angry bird at hand," Ginny commented before she shifted her attention to Luna, "We have something important to talk about."

"What does Harry have to say," Luna said as she started kicking her feet in the cold water of the stream.

Ginny didn't even flinch at the correct assumption of Luna, it was only logical of her to think that she had received a message from Harry upon seeing Hedwig.

"Apparently Sirius Black is innocent of all crimes," Ginny said.

"Wouldn't surprise me, Father always said he was Stubby Boardman, lead singer of hobgoblins,"

"What does that have to do with him being innocent," Ginny asked confused at the strange connection she made to Sirius Black, "Never mind, actually, he met Harry and _claims_ to be innocent of all crimes, including killing his parents."

"That's interesting, Harry never told us that," Luna said turning towards Ginny, her pale blue eyes showing a sharpness rarely seen.

"Well, he didn't know it either," Ginny answered, "According to Black, he went after the traitor named Pettigrew and tried to kill him but the traitor tricked him and faked his own death due to which he was thrown into Azkaban without a trial."

"And I assume there is no proof to back up his claims," Luna said staring into the crystal clear water of the stream, where different kind of exotic fish were moving.

"No evidence," Ginny shook her head, "But he does say that he knows where we can find the traitor."

"Is it someone we know?" Luna questioned.

"I wouldn't say that," Ginny answered.

"So who is it?" Luna asked keenly.

"Scabbers," Ginny proclaimed.

"An Animagus I see," Luna said nodding her head, "Perfect for hiding assuming that the ministry didn't know he was an animagus, even if they knew, they would hardly try looking for a rat once they believe they had got their man. Now the question is how much is the truth in all of this. Is Black truly innocent or is he just concocting a story to get near to Harry to kill him."

"That's a possibility," Ginny nodded her head, "Harry's already a strong wizard and most likely Black is unarmed so he would need to rely on his wits to have a chance at Harry's life."

"But I do believe that ambiguity can be easily cleared," Luna spoke in a clear voice. She got up and wore her shoes before drawing closer to Ginny.

"Well, that's what Harry asked us to do but its' not that easy. Mum won't let me do anything as I please. Besides, Scabbers now with Percy and he doesn't allow anyone to go inside his room, not even Mum.

"Your mother is really a hurdle in all this, though Percy can be easily handled with. You told me that Percy got an internship at the ministry didn't you?" Luna asked.

"Yes!" Ginny exclaimed, "How can I forget that? I can try to sneak into his room while he is away," the happiness on her face quickly turned into frown, "though it won't be that easy, he's already of age and knowing the twin's antic, he must have place some anti-trespassing ward on the room." Ginny shrugged her shoulder, "Oh well, it can't be anything that I can't handle."

"Brilliant," Luna clapped her hands, "Now how to deal with your mother?"

"I can try giving her a sleeping potion but it's more than likely that she would put the blame on me once she wakes up," Ginny said with a frown.

"You can't do that Ginny," Luna said seriously, "Harry wouldn't want you to do something that could hurt you. How about this you ask your father to get your mother checked up at St. Mungo's? that could easily clear the hurdle for two to three hours, more than enough to find Scabbers and find out whether he is an animagus or not."

"That's brilliant Luna," Ginny said, "I'll ask Dad today as soon as he comes back. More than likely he would agree."

"Well then the problem's out of the way then," Luna said smiling, "How much time do you think you have before you will be missed."

"More than enough for an adventure," Ginny answered with a smile of her own.

…

It was the morning of the next day and Ginny was all alone inside the house. Fred and George were busy in their room doing Merlin knows what. Scratch that, she knew exactly what they were doing. Like she expected, her dad had agreed to take her mother for a checkup without much persuasion. More than likely, he had her own doubts about her mental conditions and didn't want to expose his children to that. Percy too was gone for his internship. It was high time that she tried sneaking into his room.

Quickly making her way to Percy's room, she looked around, checking for the last time if she was alone before she brought out her wand and set to work.

The complexity of the wards surprised her, these were defense level wards that she didn't think would be needed against her nefarious brother. It was quite fortunate that they were beginning to study NEWT level course or she would have no chance at cracking these wards. Even then, it took her better part of an hour before they were completely disabled. By that time she was panting. These were some strong wards that she didn't expect from her studious brother. Knowing that she was running low on time she stretched out her hand to open the door but was halted by a voice.

"Ginevra, what are you doing?"

Ginny quickly turned around and came face to face with the brother whose room she was trying to sneak into.

"P-Percy, what are you doing here," initially shocked at the sudden appearance of her brother, she quickly handled herself and replied.

"I forgot something and came to fetch that. The question is what are you doing outside of my room?" Percy demanded.

"Nothing really," Ginny lied, "I was just passing through."

"Then I suggest you pass through if you don't want to incur the wrath of our mother," Percy stated coldly.

Ginny glared at the extremely uptight brother of her before roughly pushing past him. She quickly made her way out of the house, partly relieved that she wasn't caught, intent on reaching Luna who should be waiting for her by their usual meeting spot.

In a short amount of time she reached the small clearing where the stream flew. Like always she found Luna kicking around in the water, sitting at the edge.

"Oh Ginny," Luna said, turning once she heard someone approaching, "did you succeed?"

Ginny shook her head, her red hair flying all over, "No, at the last second Percy came before I could enter the room."

"That's a shame," Luna said, "I guess we better tell Harry it won't be easy, Percy would be wary of you from now on which would make it harder to get inside his room."

"Then what do we do?" Ginny asked, upset at here failure.

"Now, Now Ginny no need to be pouty," Luna soothed her, "I think our best chance at getting our hands at Scabbers is in Hogwarts, where all of us can be together and making Scabbers disappear a lot easier. Your home isn't the best place for you to do such thing in case Scabbers isn't who we think he is"

"I guess you are right," Ginny answered, "And for the record I was not pouting."

"You weren't?" Luna said tilting her head, "But you look so cute when you pout. Why don't you pout for me?"

"What?" Ginny exclaimed, "I am not pouting for anyone,"

"Not even for me?" Luna asked with a dejected expression.

Ginny looked at Luna's downcast expression with her torn feeling. Finally she relented, "Okay just this once,"

And then Ginny gave a tiny little pout.

"Yes," Luna exclaimed, "You are looking so cute," she moved in to hug her tightly. Ginny sighed and hugged her back.

"You better not tell Harry about this," she murmured.

…


	14. Chapter 14

**Here you go folks! Another chapter for my faithful readers. This time I don't have much to say, except that I have already uploaded a revised chapter 1 for those who don't know. So let's not keep you waiting. Ah Yes! Before I forget. This story is already set as A.U. even then to warn you people, deliberate changes have been done with the hp universe, just in case. Right then, Here you go!**

Chapter 14:

_ The Stones of Awakening. The legend goes that the workers for the great pyramid of Khufu fell short of the stones. The place nearest to them and the most abundant with sturdy rocks was an ancient barren place. When the workers tried to excavate the rocks, the locals that lived a short distance away begged and pleaded for them to stop. They believed that a strange and ancient power resided there. For they had seen first-hand the radiance that would burst from the rocks at night. Curious, the Engineers decided to stay and see for themselves whether the legend the locals spoke of was true. Indeed it was true, as they for themselves saw the bright radiance which lit the whole place. Instantly, the news was transported to the pharaoh. The pharaoh was a head strong man, a veteran of thousand battles. When told of the strange power, he simply ordered for the strange power to be found, for any great power on the Earth should belong to Pharaoh. A bit reluctant the engineers started their work. Weary of the strange power, but at the same time afraid of the wrath of pharaoh, for they considered the pharaoh the shadow of the gods. After continuous toiling for fifteen days, a sudden spark illuminated the whole sky and when the excavated site was looked at, in the middle lay three stones. Bright and polished, dark as the night sky and their beauty never ending. Never before had such stones been seen. When they were brought to the pharaoh, he was so captivated by their beauty, he ordered for a necklace to be made for the three of them. But not even the best blacksmiths of Egypt could make a necklace in which the three stones would fit. Somehow, they would always manage to slip out. Finally, the task was relegated to the arch mage of the court, to make a magical artefact of the three stones for the pharaoh. The arch mage gathered the strongest and wisest mages in the whole Egypt and set to work. For almost two years, they worked on the three stones, striving to find a way in which the three stones could be fit with any other element that they knew. But even in the end, all they could manage were three bracelets, each of them for a single stone, for together the power of the three mysterious stones was too much even for the ancient magicians of Egypt._

_The stones are said to bring with them a great era of prosperity and happiness for the people of Egypt. They flourished and grew stronger. Hence, they were named the stones of Awakening. Pharaohs were thought to be the shadows of gods and these stones awakened the god in them, or so the Egyptian people thought. The stones were held in great admiration and were worshipped on the same stature as the pharaoh. It was the belief of the Egyptian people that only a Pharaoh can wear these stones._

_The end of the so called stones of awakening is as mysterious as their beginning. The hieroglyphs at the pyramids only speak so much about these stones, and the ancient writings uncovered in Egypt also hold no record of their demise. Though, the excavation at the site of Pyramids did indeed reveal the bracelets which were once thought to hold the stones of awakening. The physical appearance of these bracelets closely resembles the ones on hieroglyphs, moreover the sign of Pharaoh, has also been found on them. What is even more mysterious regarding the three bracelets is that, even after extensive research, done by the finest wizard, neither magical residue nor any kind of magic was found on the three bracelets. This had led, many researchers to question whether the fabled tale of the mysterious stones of awakening is true, or is it just a fabrication of mind, to exaggerate the stature of Pharaoh?_

Luna sighed and shut the book on Egyptian mythologies. She had learned nothing that she didn't already know of. All that was mentioned were the miracles of stones, nothing on the bracelets in which they were embedded. They were still as much of an enigma as before. The bracelets were magical? That she was sure of. She had seen them in action first hand during their fight with basilisk. When the basilisk had broken their shield during their fight, she was sure that it was going to crash into them but then out of the corner of her eye, she saw the bracelets glowing briefly and miraculously, they were saved. Briefly, she did think that it might be the effect of adding unicorn hair, but she rejected that thought on the spot. Unicorn hair might be used to ward off evil but they cannot strengthen a broken shield enough to deflect a basilisk. This led to only one conclusion, the bracelets were magical.

But the main question was, how then the wizards were not able to detect the magic on the bracelets. As Luna pondered over the question, she heard the main door open. At the same time a voice reverberated through the house.

"Luna dear! I am home, where are you,"

"Daddy! I am down here in the library," Luna turned towards the open doorway at the end of a staircase and cheerfully replied.

"fine dear! I'll be in my room if you need me."

"Okay Daddy," Luna answered and turned towards her personal library. A library situated in the basement of her home which encompassed the whole area of the house. And the whole room was stacked with shelves reaching up to the apex, filled with numerous kinds of books. She had been gathering books since she was five and in the last seven years, she had gathered quite a library. It might not quite rival the Hogwarts library, yet it was a magnificent one for a personal library. Right at the front was a long table with a lone chair, on which Luna was sitting with books scattered all over the table.

Deciding she had learned all she could from the books, she got up and started placing the book on the shelves she had taken them out from. After placing the last book on her shelf, she leaned back and took a look around the library. She was quite proud of the collection that she had made over the years, you could find books on picture drawings to the ones detailing complex process regarding the formation of spells. There were books on fairy tales and there were books explaining dark curses in graphic detail, all of it at the same place, though admittedly the last category of books was added only two years ago when she joined Harry on his quest for revenge against Voldemort and Dumbledore. Thinking about the quest, made her remember about her friends.

"Someday, I'll show this library to them," Luna muttered to herself, then she shook her head, her long dirty blonde hair dancing in a fascinating fashion with the shaking of her head.

"No, I'll show them this library as soon as I can," She corrected herself.

As she was about to go out and make tea for her father, a sudden thought crossed her mind.

_Maybe it's not that the bracelets are not magical, maybe their magic was so strong that even the best of wizards couldn't detect them._

…

There are people in this world who enjoy summer, spending time out, trekking under the sweltering sun of July seems to be their favourite past time. Then there are normal people with working brains who would like nothing else but to be submerged under ice, so that their brains could stop functioning. Now Harry Potter was not considered among normal people, whether you consider people without magic, the muggles, or people with magic, wizards. But when it comes to heat of summer, like normal people, he would prefer to spend the time inside the house. That is if he could. Even though, he had no problem staying inside, he would rather not spend one second more than he has to in the same house as his so called family, which lead to his current position of sitting under a tree, trying to concentrate on a book. Occasionally, he would send out his magic, trying to get a read on his watchers. The watcher had not changed since he had come out an hour ago, he was one of the stronger ones. Along with him, Harry could also feel the aura of Sirius Black some distance away. The thought of Sirius Black brought to his mind the matter of the supposed traitor, Pettigrew. It had been over a week and he had received no reply from the girls, nor had he heard of any news of sudden exoneration of his godfather, which could only mean one thing, the girls had failed in procuring the rat. Still what was taking them so long to reply? Could the traitor had gotten to them somehow?

As Harry entertained such thought, he heard a low hoot coming from some distance away. As he looked up, he saw Hedwig circling over the bushed under which he was sitting. He raised his hand, signalling Hedwig. The owl gave another hoot and dived to where Harry was, landing gracefully on his shoulder. She ruffled her feathers and nibbled on Harry's ear. Harry smiled at this show of affection by his owl, rubbing her neck.

"How was the trip girl?" Harry asked, still smiling at his owl.

Hedwig gave a low hoot as if approving of the trip. Harry gave a loud laugh at that, and shook his head. He knew that owls couldn't understand Human language, still sometimes Hedwig seemed too smart for her own good.

"You seem quite fond of that owl!" another voice said.

The voice belonged to Sirius, recently emerged from the thick bushes surrounding the little clearing. He looked a bit healthy now, Harry having made sure that he at least gave some good meal to this guy. Murderer on not, He didn't want to kill anyone by starving. He had been a victim of starvation long enough to empathize with those who were hungry. That was the sole reason he had taken food out for Sirius for the first time. Now if he really was a murderer, than Harry made sure he had a much worse fate planned for him.

The constant good meal had done wonders for Sirius health, while the unkempt hair and beard was still there, there was some colour to his skin, and no longer did he look like a walking skeleton, now there appeared to be some fat on his body. His eyes resembled two sunken pits no more than a flat ground now.

'Sirius!" Harry exclaimed, his eyes darting around in panic, it would do no good for Sirius to be captured now, if he was innocent, then Dumbledore wouldn't hesitate to throw him back, and if he wasn't innocent then he didn't want his revenge taken away from him.

"What are you doing out here?" Harry hissed, "There are people watching me, you know that!"

"Calm down Harry," Sirius tried to placate Harry, "Dung is here, he wouldn't even notice the world turning upside down, probably think it's a drunken illusion," Sirius snickered at his own attempted joke.

"Still, you shouldn't have gone that close to the guy," Harry argued.

"Bullocks Harry!" Sirius answered calmly, "You can smell the booze on the guy from a mile away literally."

"It's your funeral," Harry retorted, before closing his eyes under the guise of taking a deep breath at Sirius antics, but what he was really doing was sending his magic out to see whether Sirius was right or not. They might have gotten a bit closer, yet he was not going to reveal his secret to a potential enemy.

As Sirius had said, it was the weakest person's turn, whom he had identified as Mundungus Fletcher, or Dung, as Sirius was so fond of calling him, according to him the man was as close to dung as you can get.

"So what has your pretty friend to say?" Sirius asked as he eyed the owl. Hedwig gave an indignant hoot at being eyed and flew away. Good thing Harry had already retrieved his letter.

Ignoring Sirius' witty comment, Harry focused on opening the letter. The letter opened with usual pleasantries before moving to the main subject. As expected, the girls were not able to retrieve the rat due to Percy's over vigilance. Luna had suggested that the capture of traitor be moved to after the holidays had ended, keeping in view of Molly's behaviour regarding Ginny along with the chance that Percy might be suspicious of Ginny if she tried to get into his room once again.

Despite expecting failure, Harry still was a bit disheartened at this outcome. He did recognize merit in Luna's suggestion.

"Well, what does the letter say?" Sirius prompted, once he thought Harry had finished reading the letter.

"It looks like she couldn't get her hands on the rat." Harry gave a short version of what was written in the letter.

"Eh!" Sirius exclaimed, "It's just a rat, how could she not get hand on one when it's locked too?"

"You don't know her circumstances," Harry snapped.

"Whoa, Whoa, alright Harry. I am Sorry I said something like that," Sirius said waving his hand, there was a hint of guilt in his voice, "I guess I got too carried away at the thought of freedom."

"It's alright," Harry answered, calming himself down slightly.

"Though one day, I would seriously like to know about this lady friend of yours," Sirius continued, now that he was sure that Harry had calmed down from his short outburst.

"Once I have made sure about who is my parent's murderer, then sure, if you are not the murderer that is," Harry replied, though he did wish that Sirius was not the traitor like he claimed to be. He just had this odd feeling that he should trust this man, even then he was not willing to trust anyone just like that, he had experienced enough, learned enough to trust someone just like that even though he was just a mere boy of thirteen.

"Even though it pains my heart to hear that, I admit that it is only logical to not trust a man who had spent previous twelve years in Azkaban," Sirius said in reply, though his voice held an odd tilt of longing.

"Well, if it soothes your heart then I too wish that you are truly who you claim to be and not some maniacal psychopath out to kill me." Harry said looking at Sirius.

"Ah, my heart is filling with love," Sirius said dramatically while clutching his heart, "it might even burst from this much love."

"Stop acting like a fool," Harry said glaring, yet there was a smile tugging at his lips.

"As you wish," Sirius answered mock saluting.

What followed was a short silence, filled with comfort, the sun was no longer as hot, the wind no longer scorching. If Harry had to say anything about this moment, it would be just one word, perfect.

"You know Harry," Sirius said breaking the silence, he had taken to leaning against a tree while sitting, his eyes were closed, one knee hunched up on which his left hand was resting, it looked like he was finally relaxing.

"I truly am glad that you had wizened up so much, even though you are so young. It's heart breaking to imagine what you must have to go through to learn so much, still I am happy that you are not some normal teenager wasting away his life on pursuit which won't help anyone."

"Well World's a harsh place," was the short reply from Harry.

"Yes it is, took me twelve years for it to really sink in," Sirius once again began, "but thanks to your mother we already knew what kind of place the world really was."

The mention of his mother piqued his attention. Finally it dawned on him that Sirius could be a valuable source of information on his parents.

"Your mother, Lily, bless her soul, was an amazing witch. Has anyone told you that you have got her eyes?"

"No," Harry slowly shook his head, amazed at this little piece of information relating to his parents.

"Well your eyes are just the same shade as hers, other than that you look like an exact clone of James, you father, at this age." Sirius kept on talking in the same posture. There was a faint smile playing on his lips, as if he was reliving an old memory that he cherished.

Harry sat there absorbing these little things about her parents. Till now he wasn't sure how he felt about his parents, yes his whole quest against Voldemort and Dumbledore was based on revenge, but the main driving force behind it was the life he was deprived of, or rather, the life he was forced to live. Since he first came to the wizarding world, he had known Halloween to be the death anniversary of his parent, but for the last two years, Halloween had come and gone, and the fact that his parents had died on that day had remain just that, a cold hard fact, no matter how much he tried, he couldn't bring himself to feel anything, anything at all about his parent. At night, he had tried sitting up, willing himself to feel a speck of sadness at the death of his parent, at the happy life that he had been deprived of, at the love that he would never feel, but his heart had given him nothing, no emotion, no sadness, not even anger, no tear had been shed for the loss of his parents.

But as he heard Sirius talk about his parent, he could feel a deep stirring in his heart, like a tiny ripple in a vast ocean, like a gentle breeze swaying the leaves of still trees, and he knew what it was, it was joy at finally getting to know his parents.

Sirius continued on, completely unaware of the changes inside his godson, as he lost himself to his memories.

"I met your father on our first train ride to Hogwarts, we happened to stumble on the same compartment at the same time, so we decided to share it. The whole train ride was spent talking, and having fun at each other expense, we both discovered a partner prankster in each other. Before our first train ride came to an end, we both were close, much closer than to anyone else in our whole life. James was an only son of the influential family. Sure he had made friend back before. It was almost impossible for a charismatic young person like him to not have friends, but they were more like lackeys to him, no one among them could he call a true friend. I on the other hand was the heir to the ancient and most noble house Black. I had a younger brother and three cousins with me back at house Black. Our mother was a pureblood fanatic. Her beliefs were shared by our father, though he never interfered much within the household. Our mother had complete control over us. The first thing that we were taught was that the Purebloods were superior to anyone. That muggleborns and muggles are to be despised and are only there to be used and then discarded by the purebloods. Even after growing up in such an environment, or maybe because of growing up in such a hated environment, I began to despise anything relating to blood supremacy. Our household had a strict discipline. Maybe that's why I grew so close to James. Maybe I saw a chance for me to break away from the tight life I was leading till now and have some fun.

But the most interesting thing about that train ride was not the closeness that we had come to share in such a short time, but the fact that we had grown so close without even knowing the names of each other.

When the train was almost upon Hogsmeade station, did we realize that we didn't even know each other names. James was the first to remedy that, as he stated his name, I felt my heart drop. He was a Potter. Blacks and Potters were always head to head in their political beliefs. I knew for sure that once he knew my name, he would scorn me. But at that moment, did I realize the greatness of James' heart.

…..

The sun had almost completely dipped below horizon, the reddish orange hue which coloured the sky presented a pleasing yet melancholic sight.

A steam engine train, coloured scarlet and gold, was speeding away through the fields, as its journey was entering the final phase. Just as the train was finishing its journey, a lifelong friendship was being born in one of its compartments.

Two raven haired boys sat facing each other, one a messy black, other a shaggy black, one possessed brown eyes hidden behind glasses, others black as the moonless night sky.

"So the train ride will end soon," The one with glasses began, "Err, wait we haven't even introduced ourselves,"

The one with shaggy black hair began snickering, "For the whole train ride we have been trading jibes without even knowing each other's name."

"Well, it was a fun ride so it's alright if it slipped our mind," the first guy replied, "though we should rectify it immediately. I'll go first. My name's James, James Potter. It was a pleasure to meet you," he extended his hand in greeting.

The one with shaggy black hair looked up at the boy in shock, confusing James, he didn't think he had said something wrong. His mum would kill him if she knew that he had not only failed to introduce himself at the start but also somehow screwed when he finally got the chance to do it.

"Is there something wrong with my name?" James attempted a joke, though a lame one in his opinion.

But there was no reply from the other boy. It was getting awkward for James to be standing like that with his hand stretched out. The same scene stretched out for what felt like centuries before there was any moment.

It was the other boy, who finally stood up and slowly started moving towards the compartment door, confusing James even further.

"Hey where are you going?" James called out.

"Outside where you will be throwing me after learning my name," the boy replied.

"Now why would I want to throw you out? Unless you are Grindelwald in disguise. I guess I would be the one being thrown out then." James snickered at his own joke.

The boy's patience finally snapped, "My name's Sirius Black. Now tell me will you scoff at me or not?" he challenged.

Realization finally dawned on James' face. He might be young but he still knew what was happening in the political world, though by no work on his part. His mother always wanted him to be updated on what was happening. He would be damned if he wouldn't learn something that his mum ordered. She can be downright scary when she wanted to be.

"No Way!" James exclaimed, "My Mum would hang me by my bits if she learned that I turned down the friendship of a good person just because his last name was black,"

A snort escaped Sirius nostrils. He had heard enough stories from James to know that if there was one thing this boy feared, it was his mother.

With that snort, the tension that have been building in the room finally broke and they both began laughing heartily. They laughed till tears started coming out of their eyes.

"Besides," James said wiping his eyes still clutching his stomach, "Like I said, you seem like a good person. You don't have that arrogance that usually those blood supremacist have. You don't look down your nose on anyone, besides you seem to have a good mischievous mind inside your thick skull. So yeah, you look alright in my book.

"Is that so?" Sirius replied, "Then let me reintroduce myself. My name's Sirius, Sirius Black and I am positively pleased to meet you James Potter." This time it was Sirius who extended his hand.

James took it without hesitation and clapped the other hand on Sirius shoulder, "me too mate!"

Just then it was announced that the train would be pulling in Hogsmeade station shortly.

"So what do you say, let's make the next seven years hell for those purebloods Slytherins," James suggested.

"I say," Sirius replied, "by the time we are done with them, they would be begging to be sent to hell."

"Sirius Black, Have I told you that you are one evil person,"

"Yours truly is positively honoured to hear that."

…..

"And that' how we became friends," Sirius finished reminiscing, though his story seemed far from over.

"After that, both of us were sorted into Gryffindor. There were two other boys with us, whom we soon included in our little group of hell raisers, thus the marauders were born."

Harry nodded his head at this tidbit of information, he already had his suspicions since he came to know the name of traitor to be Wormtail.

The story continued on, "Our whole first year was spent playing pranks on the student body. More often than not, we were caught in the beginning. Professor McGonagal seemed adept at catching trouble makers. But as the time paused, we became more cautious and soon the only ones the pranks could be associated to, by students and teachers alike, were marauders and no one knew who they were."

"The end of first year was as memorable as always and I returned with happy memories from my first school year. But what awaited me back at home was hell. My parents couldn't accept me being in Gryffindor. I was all but shunned from the family. That summer was the most miserable summer of my life. But still I kept enduring, there was only one thing that kept me going, my friends."

Harry could empathize with that. It was the same way he had spent his first summer at Dursleys after knowing he was a wizard.

"It was in the second year that we were properly introduced to your mother, Lily. She was a girl in our class that much we knew, but we didn't have that much interaction with her. She used to keep to herself and didn't bother others either. It wasn't that she was lonely either. She had a good friendship with other girls in her dorm and even in other houses. Still, our paths didn't cross with her till the second year."

"It was a prank gone horribly wrong. We wanted to take revenge on some Slytherin bullies for harassing some new first years. It was a complex trap, involving the use of more than a few potions and jinxes, certainly the most complex trap we had laid so far. As we prepared for it in an abandoned room, Hogwarts has more than a few of them, something went wrong, I don't know what it was, but there was a powerful explosion. All of us received serious burns. We don't know what she was doing there but we were rescued by your mother. She even vouched for us to Professor McGonagal, that she was teaching us potions when the accident happened. But in return, we received a berating that even Professor McGonagal couldn't hold a candle to. It still amazes me that a girl twelve years old can have such a temper."

…..

"So you are saying Miss Evans that these four requested you to teach them potions since you are the best in class, so you agreed to teach them in a classroom far so as not to be disturbed, but in their zest they began without you and an accident occurred, right?"

"Yes, Professor."

"I can certainly see these three needing Potion lessons but Mr. Lupin?"

"Well Professor I think he just wanted to come with his friends."

These two voices, a familiar and another one unfamiliar, were the first thing that Sirius heard as his consciousness returned. The only other thing that he was aware of was that he hurt all over.

"Sirius, it sure hurts like hell," This voice Sirius could recognize easily. It belonged to his best friend, James Potter.

He blearily opened his eyes only to be confronted by a blinding white light. Opening his eyes more revealed to him that the white light actually was the white coloured ceiling of the infirmary.

"I see that you four are awake now,"

Sirius could barely move, it hurt so much, but even then he somehow managed to crane his neck enough to see in front of him. Professor McGonagal was standing there with her lips in her trademark thin fashion with a young girl in Gryffindor robes. She had long red hair and emerald green eyes, a somewhat familiar face. Trying hard, Sirius could remember that she was one of his classmates, Lily Evans was her name, probably. As he moved his attention from the girl to the Professor, he realized that she was still talking.

"Well then, I hope that in future you take these _remedial Potion Lessons_ more seriously," with that Professor McGonagal turned briskly and was gone from the infirmary in the blink of an eye, leaving the four boys and the girl.

'_Remedial Potion Lessons? What is she talking about?' _that was the first thought of a confused Sirius Black.

"So I guess you covered for us, Thanks I guess, but why did you do it?" Sirius turned his head to look at his best friend, James Potter, who had asked the question.

The girl went completely red in the face.

'_Is she blushing?' _that was the thought that crossed Sirius mind. It looked like she was one of those girls with a crush on his best friend.

But the next few sentences completely changed the view of Sirius.

"Setting the matter of me covering for you aside, just what were the four of you doing? Making such a complex combination of spells and potions. Three of you could barely hold a wand straight."

Sirius could feel slight offense at that, he thought he was one of the better student in his class, still the temper shown by the girl had completely thrown them off balance, all of them were looking at her mouth gaping like a fish out of water.

"And Remus," now the girl turned specifically towards Remus Lupin who paled at being the centre of attention of this fiery young girl, "I thought you were better than that, that you might have enough brain cells to stop them from attempting such an impossible prank, but clearly I was wrong."

"B…" Remus tried to open his mouth.

"Shut up," the girl snapped at him, rendering him speechless once again. Whoever she was, she certainly had a mouth to match her personality.

"Just because you four have pulled a few pranks don't think you can just do anything," She seemed to continue on and on. Her temper was scary.

"Hey, we have pulled more than a…." James tried to protest.

"Did I say you could talk?" This time it was James turn to be chewed out by the girl.

"I know all about your secret group and who was behind most of those pranks, I am not some dumb little girl who cannot figure out something so easy." What she had declared easy had the whole school pulling their hair out.

"Honestly, you four are such idiots, if you are going to take revenge on someone at least do it within your own power," the temper had gone just as rapidly as it had come, replaced by a soothing voice and a kind face, once again the four boys were rendered speechless, "Don't go so overboard that you will be hurt in the process. Don't forget there are people who care about you too."

"You knew?" James had his mouth open in surprise.

"Of course, like I said I am not some dumb little girl," the girl answered crossly.

"Now I need to go, class will start shortly, I'll take pity on you four and return with a copy of my notes at the end of classes," the girl said and picked up her back pack before going out of the infirmary, leaving in her wake four completely stunned boys.

"Sirius," It was James who broke the silence after the girl had gone, "I think I am in Love."

What followed were the gales of laughter from three friends and a confused James who could only contemplate what he said was wrong.

…

"That was our first meeting with Lily Evans, as fiery as the red hair suggest and as kind as you can possibly get. After that being scolded by her became a regular occurrence for us four. Whenever a prank was botched or some innocent student fell prey to our pranks, we knew she would be waiting for us the next day, and she never disappointed us. Though how she came to know of our exploits, we never knew, even when the whole school was abuzz with the mystery of marauders, she was the only one who knew their identity. You could even call her the impromptu fifth marauder."

"In the third Year, we had a shocking revelation, that Remus Lupin was a werewolf. James discovered it while accidently overhearing a certain conversation between Professor McGonagal and Remus Lupin on topic of his full moon accommodations. Now Remus monthly disappearance made much more sense.

I was the first one to be confided in by James. The prejudice against werewolves was strong, is still strong in the magical society. Besides, the fact was that they were blood thirsty creatures. But the Remus Lupin that we knew was kind and gentle. How could he be a blood thirsty werewolf? It was Lily who dragged us out of this pit of despair.

….

It was almost midnight. The star were twinkling brightly in the sky. Hogwarts like always was standing, radiating an aura of pure magnificence under the starry sky.

In one of the towers of Hogwarts was situated the Gryffindor common room. Fire had almost gone out in the fireplace. What were left were a few sparks, trying desperately to lengthen their life.

In front of the fireplace, completely unaware of the cold that was increasing, sat two boys with their heads held in their hands. They were facing a crucial situation at this time.

The situation was related to one of their best friends, who just happened to be a werewolf, and it just happened that these two boys had learned about it just today.

"I still can't believe he is a werewolf," James said despondently while still clutching his head.

"So you finally figured it out," came a voice from the other side of the room.

The boys jumped at the sudden voice, their eyes darting to find the person who had overheard them. Their eyes came to rest on a sole figure, standing under the girls' dormitory, dressed in pyjamas, looking sleepy.

"Oh it's you Evans," mumbled Sirius, they had gotten to know her enough to trust that she wouldn't babble such a thing to anyone.

"Yes, Sirius cheers to you too," answered Lily before she moved to take the third seat left unoccupied in front of the fireplace. She shivered for a second, before pulling out her wands from merlin knows where from inside her pyjamas and reignited the fire.

"Finally, a temperature in which humans can live," mumbled Lily before yawning.

"Wait," James interjected, "You mean to tell me that you knew all along that Remus was a werewolf?"

"Keep your voice down," Lily hissed, "It is ringing all over the Hogwarts."

"Sorry," James mumbled sheepishly, completely aware of the sensitivity of the topic.

"And to answer your question, James, yes, I knew of Remus' Lycanthropy. I am more amazed that as his best friends you two never noticed the constant time period of his sickness."

"It kind of slipped our minds, besides we never thought he could be a werewolf," James protested.

"Yes, it is not the first thing that comes to mind," Lily admitted, "Even I was not sure of it at first, but as time passed my belief was only cemented that he is a werewolf."

"Yes, a blood thirsty animal," Sirius commented miserably. James too nodded at him a despondent look appearing on his face.

"Hey, you two," Lily's voice turned soft, hey eyes gentle as spring breeze, "look here,"

Even though they didn't want to, they couldn't help but look up at her. There was always some magic in her voice that they just couldn't ignore.

"You have known Remus Lupin for two years haven't you?" at their nod she continued, "In those two years have you ever known Remus to be prone to Violent outburst or even engaging in petty argument that doesn't make sense,"

The two boys could only shake their heads at that.

"Exactly, the Remus Lupin you know is a kind and gentle soul. One who wouldn't even hurt a fly if he could help it. He is a soft spoken person who very much despise violence. That gentle nature of his won't change just because you two know of his lycanthropy. He would still be the same Remus Lupin that you knew from two years back. If you wake up tomorrow then you will find that he will still act like the Remus Lupin of yesterday, who speaks only when spoken to, who hates the limelight, and gives a slight smile when he watches his friends engaging in stupid activities."

"But then why didn't he tell us?" James asked confusedly.

"Don't be an idiot James," Lily answered, "How hard it is for a werewolf to be accepted in society? It is almost impossible, and the notion of making friends? You can forget about that. Look at his situation from his point of view. A young werewolf who has somehow managed to make friends, good friends at that. Will he want to lose that? No. Instead, he will try whatever is in his might to save this friendship of theirs, even if it means hiding his conditions from these beloved friends of his."

Understanding slowly dawned on the faces of Sirius and James. They were stupid to think that just because he is a werewolf, it would change anything about him. He didn't ask to be bitten, he certainly wouldn't want to bite others. They were beginning to act like those blood supremacist that they hate.

Slowly, they got up from their seats, "Thanks Lily, for showing us our stupidity, we will be sure to tell him that his lycanthropy doesn't change anything between us" Sirius said.

"I am sure that will make him happy," Lily stifled another yawn while answering. Now that the situation had been resolved they realized the lateness of the hour.

"Good night," both of them bid her good night before walking towards the stairs of boys' dormitory. Just as they were beginning to climb they heard the voice of Lily Evans.

"You know what will make him even happier? His friends being there for him when he needs them the most."

Both Sirius and James knew what she meant, and they both resolved to give whatever happiness they could to their trusted friend. Even if it meant delving into dangerous transfiguration. Besides playing with danger was their everyday job.

….

"It was your mother who first gave us the idea of helping Remus during the transformations, maybe unwittingly, maybe knowingly, she never did tell us much about her thought process those days. She was a mysterious counsellor who would appear when we needed her the most, otherwise she would remain occupied in her own world."

The story of Sirius Black would have continued if not for the lateness of the hour. The sun had almost completely disappeared below the horizon, and the darkness was slowly encroaching upon the sky.

Sirius opened his eyes sensing that he had been speaking for long. He looked towards his godson for saying good bye when he was startled.

Harry was brought out of his reverie by the silence. As he grew aware of his surroundings, he also became aware of the dampness on his cheeks. He didn't know when he started crying but it must have been for long since he could feel the stinginess in his eyes now. He was sure that his eyes were all red and puffy by now.

"Harry, you alright?" Sirius was concerned for his godson, he hadn't realized that his story would have such a strong effect on the boy.

"I am alright," even his throat was raspy form not speaking for so long. He hastily wiped his cheeks, "It's just that I never knew anything about my parents."

"I am sorry Harry, I didn't know it would be so traumatic for you," Sirius sounded genuinely sorry.

"No, no," Harry waved away his concerns, "I am very happy you told me about my parents, why did you stop? Please continue."

"It's late Harry, I am sure Dung's shift is about to end, besides you need to go back to your house, I promise I'll tell you more about your parents tomorrow."

At Sirius reply, Harry look up, startled, he was right, it had gotten pretty late. Mundungus shift would be ending soon. Besides, he was hungry now. It would be time for Dinner soon.

"Alright then, I'll see you soon then," Harry said.

Sirius nodded his head before standing up. He gave his godson one last glance before transforming and running into the bushes.

Harry watched his Godfather run into the bushes. Today had been one of the more emotional days of his life. He had come to know so much about his parents. He felt a lot closer to them now. He looked down towards his hands, where the letter from Ginny and Luna was still clutched. He couldn't wait to tell them all about that he had learned today.

As he turned back and started his fast trudge towards Number 4 Privet Drive, he couldn't help but wish that Sirius was truly innocent of all those charges.

…


	15. Chapter 15

**A/N: Hello my faithful readers! your favourite Author is back once again. This time this note would be dedicated to some explanation. You will notice that this chapter is a bit on the shorter side. You will also notice the quality suddenly plummeting for the last 400 500 words. The thing is, they were hastily written and written in sickness. Yes, I am kinda sick right now. Though, I hope to make a full recovery after a good night's sleep (God knows, when I will have that). Now, I completely understand that you don't care one bit about me and want to read the story. So this sick man won't stand in your way (I will be admitted to hospital for completely different reason then.) and will let you get on with reading this admittedly shorter and not my best chapter.**

**Also, we are officially above 100k words, though barely!**

Chapter 15

The dinner table was set by the time Harry returned from his meeting with Godfather. He quickly went to his room to put his book, which he was supposed to finish today, back and came down, making a quick stop in the bathroom to make himself presentable on the way back. It wouldn't bode well for his relatives to see his puffy eyes. Anything that could give them the slightest amount of pleasure, Harry wanted to avoid.

As soon as he entered the dining hall, he knew something was wrong. The table was filled with tension and nervousness. Not understanding what could have transpired in his absence, he slowly sat down. His eyebrows rose as he took in his dinner. His portion was rather larger than normal, not that it ever stopped him from stealing seconds since he started going to Hogwarts. It only confirmed that something had happened. Though, he was not going to ask. He rather enjoyed watching the Dursleys squirm.

Halfway through the dinner, and Harry's enjoyment came to an end. The tension in the room, at that point, had become palpable.

"Boy, we have something to talk to you about." It was Vernon who had finally mustered up the courage.

Harry kept eating, like he had heard nothing, savouring every morsel of food.

In the end, Vernon couldn't take it anymore.

"I am speaking to you Boy!" Vernon's trademark vein in the forehead had appeared and, it seemed to be pulsing, never a good sign.

But today, Harry felt like taking his chances. He was feeling a lot lighter after listening to Sirius for two hours or more. He slowly picked up his napkin, daintily wiping his mouth before he spoke up.

"Oh, are you talking to me? I don't remember my name being a boy," His voice was mocking, as if taunting Vernon.

The vein in Vernon's forehead seemed to be throbbing quite painfully and, his twitching moustache had reached a crescendo.

"Why you," Vernon started to get up, but was stopped by a hand on his forearm.

"Vernon,"

It was his Aunt who had intervened, "Why don't you go and watch some T.V. Vernon. I'll talk to him."

Vernon turned towards his wife and nodded. Giving one last hateful glare to Harry, he left the dining room.

Not even bothering to look up, Harry continued to eat his dinner.

"Marge is coming over soon," seeing that Harry won't be paying attention anytime soon, his Aunt had started speaking.

"So," Harry replied flat out.

It took some time for his Aunt to reply, "It would be better, if you could control your _unnaturalness _when she is here."

Finally, Harry put down his fork and looked up. There was a smile on his face that unnerved his Aunt.

"Why would I do that?" was the answer that came forth from Harry.

"What?" His Aunt's mouth dropped open in shock. It looked like she never expected such an answer from him. Well, it was not like he was going to roll over and accept anything she would say. If anything, he would like to extract a price for all this.

"I said," Harry began slowly as if talking to a child, "Why would I try to hide my 'unnaturalness' as you had said so eloquently."

"B-B-Because Marge doesn't like it," Petunia stuttered out.

"Why would it concern me whether she likes it or not?" Harry asked again.

"It would be bad for us if word got out," She hissed.

"That's your problem, not mine," Harry pointed out, "I don't have a reputation to maintain."

And it was true. Since the first day he had left for Hogwarts, The Dursleys had made sure to tell everyone, that he attended St. Brutus for Criminally insane boys.

His Aunt was once again resembling a fish out of water, her mouth opened so far that Harry was sure Dudley's head would fit into that.

"What is it that you want?" His Aunt asked resignedly. At last, it looked like she understood her position.

As it happened, Harry just needed something that he wasn't sure how to go about asking.

"You see, I have this slip that I need you to sign," Harry answered.

"I am not signing anything related to that _thing_ of yours," Petunia's voice had become harsh.

"Then don't sign," Harry answered calmly, way too calmly, "No one's forcing, like no one's forcing me to hide my _unnaturalness."_

Petunia gave a resigned sigh, "Fine, if you are on your best behavior when Marge's around, I will sign it."

"No," Harry shook his head, "You sign it now and I might consider your request."

Petunia seemed to be squirming in her seat. It looked like she was thinking hardly.

"Fine," After some pondering she answered resignedly, "Give it to me and I will sign it."

Harry nodded his head and got up from the table. The permission slip was still in his trunks somewhere. Reaching his room, he began going through his trunk, trying to find it. After sometime, he managed to locate it and, in no time at all he was back in kitchen, handing the slip to his Aunt.

His Aunt sniffed and glared at him before taking the slip. She gave it one glance before hurriedly signing it.

"Here you go, now you had better behave in front of Marge," She said, forcibly thrusting the slip in his hand.

"Of course Aunt Petunia, we have a deal," Harry replied taking the slip.

After taking the slip, Harry returned to his room and placed the slip carefully in his trunks. He already had his dinner and there was nothing else to do, hence Harry decided it was time to sleep.

Plopping down on his makeshift bed, Harry thought of his day. It was quite a day for him. He had learned a bit about his parents, extracted some much due vengeance upon Dursleys and gotten the Hogsmeade permission slip signed. All in all, it was a lucky day for him. It might even rank as his best day ever at Dursleys. And now, he could sleep easy, Thought Harry, as he laid down on his bed and was immediately taken into the embrace of Morpheus.

The next day started early for Harry as always. He got up, made breakfast for Dursleys and started on his chores after eating his usual meagre amount of Breakfast. Though, he did wish that his portion were a bit larger, he would just sneak some food while he was working. Through his hard work he managed to complete his chores by noon. After that, he took his book and went to the park to do some studying. Which would later be interrupted by the arrival of Sirius.

"Hey, Harry," Sirius greeted him as he transformed from his animagus and sat down beside him.

"Let me guess, Dung again?" Harry asked resignedly.

Sirius nodded his head.

In response Harry could only shake his head.

"You really should be more careful," Harry kept his focus on the book.

"No need to worry about me," Sirius waved away his concern, "What is it that you are reading?"

"There's a need to worry about you, what if you get captured?" Harry argued, handing the book to him.

"Honestly Harry, I am careful. How do you think I was able to elude them thus far," Sirius rolled his eyes and looked at the book. His eyebrows rose up in surprise.

"This is some advanced material you are reading for your age,"

"Well, I need to, you know," Harry answered. Since yesterday, he was feeling that he could trust Sirius a bit more. A few less secrets wouldn't hurt anything. Besides, his statement would only confuse someone who knew nothing about his situation.

"Ah, the Prophecy," Sirius nodded in realization, "I am surprised you actually believe in it. Besides, Isn't Voldemort dead?"

"You know about the Prophecy?" Harry asked with an eyebrow arched.

Sirius nodded his head, "Yes, James told me before they had to go into hiding."

"Of course," Harry answered, "And to answer your questions, no, I don't believe in Prophecy and, Secondly, Voldemort isn't dead. I can testify to that, Along with Professor McGonagal and my friends."

"Why am I not surprised that, that maniacal Dark Lord somehow found a way to live beyond the Killing curse," was the answer that came forth from Sirius.

"He was really strong," Harry agreed, "Even when he was just a wisp of smoke, clinging to another man, Professor McGonagal was still wary of going against him, even though she wiped the floor with Professor Flitwick. Now my Book Sirius, I need to read."

"What? Why would McGonagall fight Flitwick," Sirius asked, confused, while he handed Harry his book, "Unless, Flitwick said something pro divination in front of her. She really hates divination, you know."

"Yes, I know," Harry answered, taking his book and opening it to appropriate page, "And no. Long story short, he was under Voldemort control and he ordered him to fight Professor McGonagall."

"Wow," Sirius exclaimed, amazed, "A lot happened to you in the last two year hasn't it."

"Yes, A lot," Harry agreed.

"You know Harry, You never told me anything about your friends," Sirius commented curiously, remembering Harry's earlier comment.

"My friends, huh," Harry said looking up at the sky. It was completely covered with grey clouds. It felt like evening in the middle of afternoon. Wind was slowly picking up speed, disturbing Harry's hair, which had grown a fair proportion. Though, compared to Sirius, they were still short. Setting his hair, he thought about whether to tell Sirius about his friends or not. He knew that Sirius wouldn't mind if he chose not to tell him anything. And, that more than anything made up his mind. Just the basic information wouldn't harm anyone.

"I have two friends in Hogwarts," Harry began, "Ginny Weasley, the one I told you about at the beginning and another girl Luna Lovegood."

"Uhuh, Go on," Sirius urged him.

"Luna, well, she is fairly unconventional from the normal standard. She is always going on and on about some strange creature that no one even knows whether they exist or not but, talking to her is refreshing and fun in its own way. Actually, she is quite a genius. She comes first in our whole year, you know, and, she is always the first one to grasp a spell or the theory behind it. But more than that, she had stuck with me through thick and thin in the past two years. Quite occasionally, it was her keen insight that saved us when we were trapped in a dangerous situation."

"As for Ginny, she is the youngest daughter of the Weasleys. You can say we are kindred spirits. She has had a lot of trouble at her home but, her condition has improved now. She is quick tempered and really hates her full name. She is an amazing chaser, along with Luna. When those two are together, they can fly circles around a whole team. She is brilliant with spell works, and a diligent student too. She knows just how to cheer you up when you are in a funk. Though, she can be quite scary when you irk her off."

"Whoa, they sound like really good friends," Sirius answered.

"Yes, they are," Harry smiled affectionately.

"I would like to meet them someday," Sirius said.

"Well, once your name is cleared, you can meet anyone," Harry replied, returning to his book.

"No kidding, once my name is cleared, I'll be able to meet anyone. Maybe some hot busty ladies too," Sirius said gleefully, scratching his beard.

"And that's the first thing you are going to do after you are freed!" Harry asked with his eyebrows raised.

"Hey!" Sirius exclaimed, "I have been in prison for twelve years, a man has got to take care of his horniness."

"Sirius," Harry closed his eyes in exasperation, "you are sitting with a thirteen year old child. Mind your language."

"Oh, come on!" Sirius answered, "Thirteen is not young. I am sure you have had some pretty dirty thoughts about those two girls you were going on about. They are quite pretty aren't they? Right Harry?" Sirius had begun elbowing Harry in his ribs by the end.

"Sirius!" Harry blushed, "Why are we even having this conversation?"

"Because men needs to have a heart to heart conversation too, you know," Sirius draped his arm over Harry's shoulders, "So which girl do you have the hots for? Luna or Ginny? Or both? Huh? Tell me?,"

"Get away from me you old geezer," Harry shook off his hand and got up, moving to a different tree and sat down, "and don't get so chummy with me."

"Ouch Harry!" Sirius clutched his heart theatrically, "Don't say things like that, you hurt me."

"Oh for Merlin's sake!" Harry answered exasperatedly, "That's enough."

"Okay, fine!" Sirius waved his hands, "no need to get in a tumble."

"Such a dog," Harry grumbled, "that reminds me, the dog population might see an increase soon."

"Huh? What? Why?" Sirius sounded completely confused.

Listening to Sirius, Harry couldn't help but laugh, "You sound like a lost puppy, Sirius."

"Well, Sorry about that," Sirius mumbled.

"About your questions," Harry let out a snicker, "My Aunt Marge's coming. She likes to travel with her dogs." Harry's mood plummeted as he thought about his Aunt which didn't go unnoticed by Sirius.

"You don't seem to like her much," Sirius commented.

"Yes well, I am not really fond of her," Harry answered, sighing.

"Marge huh? Don't remember anyone with that name from Lily's side. That means she is from that hippo's side."

"Stop insulting Hippos."

"Fine, hey, does that mean she is a hippo too?" Sirius asked curiously.

"What? You got a thing for fat old ladies?" Harry retorted.

"Oh Merlin, no," Sirius shuddered, "Where did you even get such an idea?"

"Then don't ask questions like that."

'Alright," Sirius sighed, "So your Aunt's coming and you don't like her much. Say, what's your opinion about pranking the hell out of her?"

Harry shut his book and looked at Sirius, "That's not really a bad idea. So, what do you have in mind?"

"Nothing yet," Sirius shook his head, "I need to look at her to know how she's like. Pranking's a full time job you know. You need to know every single detail about your victim. Though, you can pull off a few general ones."

"I am listening," Harry answered.

"Though, there's always a chance of it being blamed on you," it looked like Sirius hadn't listened to him.

"No need to worry about that. Anything unnatural that happens around here will be blamed on me," Harry too replied, nonplussed.

"That means, anything that we do, needs to be made to look like an accident. That makes it harder, guess it would be a good test for me to see how rusty my skills are," Sirius just kept on talking.

"Sirius," in the end, Harry couldn't take it anymore.

"Uh, What Harry?" Sirius looked up.

"Listen to me when I am talking," Harry said exasperated.

"Sorry," Sirius said sheepishly, "guess I got too excited at the prospect of pranking again."

'It's alright," Harry sighed, he had been doing that a lot in presence of Sirius.

"So, Shall we get back to planning?" Sirius clapped his hand, sounding childish.

"We have hardly planned anything," Harry protested.

"No need to worry, no need to worry. A great mind like me needs but a moment to plan," Sirius boasted.

"You are giving me a headache Sirius, just tell me your plan already," Harry rubbed his temple as he answered.

"First, tell me what this Marge is like?" Sirius asked.

"Well," Harry began, "there isn't much to tell. She is fat like you guessed, eats like an elephant, ugly like a walrus."

"Now who is insulting animals," Sirius snickered.

"Also she likes dogs," Harry completely ignored Sirius' witty comment.

"Hey, stop ignoring me," Sirius protested.

"Now you know how it feels like to be ignored," Harry replied satisfactorily.

"Can we stop taunting each other and move on," Sirius answered.

"Of course," Harry said.

"So, she likes dogs and food. Maybe, we can pull something off with that. We can put some centipedes in her food, or add some earth worms in her ice cream, give her dogs some fleas, or put cockroaches on her while she is sleeping?"

"All really horrible ideas," Harry commented.

"They will make her miserable though," Sirius answered.

"Works for me," Harry replied with a smile.

"I will be the supplier," Sirius volunteered.

"Just make sure not to kill them. It would be no fun with them dead," Harry said.

"It's a deal," Sirius answered.

…

The stream beyond St. Ottery catchpole was flowing as lazily as always, shimmering brightly in the mid afternoon sun. Right in the middle, where the area was covered by a thick overgrown part of the forest, two girls were playing in the water.

"That was exhausting," Ginny said as she lay down on the bank, her feet dangling in the water.

"Pity, we couldn't find any Nargles," Luna shook her head in disappointment.

Ginny giggled at Luna, "Maybe next time."

"Say Ginny," Luna said as she laid down beside her, "What do you think of Sirius Black?"

"Sirius Black," Ginny contemplated. He was on the forefront of her mind too since she had received that letter from Harry. It had been a week since then and not a day passed by when she didn't think of him.

Hedwig took that time to land between the two girls, carrying the recent letter from Harry. She preened her neck, looking quite proud at having delivered the letter for some reason, causing the two girls to giggle.

"She looks quite cute doesn't she," Ginny commented rubbing Hedwig's chest. The owl ruffled her feather though leaned into the touch, as if expressing her displeasure at being called cute and wanting her touch at the same time. Ginny giggled harder at Hedwig's antics, picking her up and softly clutching her to her chest. Hedwig gave a low hoot and snuggled tighter.

"What about the letter Ginny?" Luna reminded her.

Ginny blushed slightly at having forgotten about the letter, extracting Hedwig from her bosom, she placed her on the ground. Understanding her intentions, she stuck out her leg on which Harry's letter was sealed.

Ginny took the letter and opened it, motioning Luna to come over so they can read together.

"He seems to be enjoying his life with Sirius," Luna observed having finished the letter.

Ginny closed the letter and tucked it in one of her pockets, "makes me want to think that he isn't really Harry's parents' murderer."

"For Harry's sake, I hope not," Luna answered closing her eyes, "He shouldn't get so close to someone suspicious. It could hurt his feelings if he is actually a murderer."

"I know, but he doesn't sound like a bad person," Ginny looked at Luna, "I really wish that we could get that rat to confirm his story."

Luna shook her head, "No it's too risky. Percy's suspicious of you already, not to mention your mother. It's hard enough for you to sneak out to come here. I am sure Harry wants to find out the truth but not badly enough for you to make your life miserable."

"I know," Ginny sighed, "Doesn't mean I like it. I just want him to have a happy family soon."

"Don't be so sure about that. This situation could very well lead to the destruction of the only chance that Harry has at a family," Luna's tone was serious.

"I know, I know Luna," Ginny's frustration were beginning to show in her voice, "He just has gone through so much already. I mean he's barely thirteen and the sole purpose of his life is to take revenge for his parents. I don't want him to be heart broken. At least, I want him to have one loving parent figure in his life."

Luna scooted closer to her, putting her hand on her shoulder for support, "I understand Ginny. I want the same thing for him too. I want him to be happy. But I don't want him hurt either. That's why I want us to be so cautious of Sirius Black. We shouldn't take any chances. And don't forget Ginny, we were just eleven too when we decided to join him in his revenge."

"But that's because we had nothing at that moment. I guess we used it as a rope to bind us," Ginny answered

Luna gently turned her head towards her, "And then we became so much closer. Is that a bad thing?"

Ginny gently shook her head, "No. I don't think so."

"What I want to say is, Ginny, there are some things that look bad but, when they occur their implications aren't bad. Sure, it's a shallow ambition but, we are just thirteen. Most people don't even know what ambition is at this stage. This world is big and mysterious, and Voldemort isn't going down that easily. I think, we have enough time to figure out what to do after him. Family isn't about blood. It's about how precious we hold someone in our hearts. Even if Sirius is convicted, Harry won't be without a family and he certainly won't be alone. We'll be there for him. We'll be his anchors."

"You certainly talk big for a thirteen year old," Ginny managed a smile.

"Who said I am a normal average thirteen year old? None of us are," Luna answered.

"I whole heartedly agree with that," Ginny said, "We certainly aren't normal."

…..

Arrival of Marge wasn't an incident that Harry was looking forward to. Though, no matter how much he wished, the incident wouldn't be postponed. Marge was coming, and it was final. All he could do was prepare for her arrival. But, as her car pulled in front of Number four Privet Drive, he couldn't help but think that he would never be prepared enough.

"Boy, get the luggage," was the first thing that Marge barked after stepping out of the car.

"No," Harry answered flat out.

"What did you say boy?" Marge turned towards him.

"Are you deaf?" Harry asked.

"What? No," Marge was thrown out of balance by the unexpected question.

"Then you heard perfectly well what I said. You can haul that big suit case yourself," Harry crossed his arms and answered defiantly.

"Why you insolent little," Marge had started moving threateningly towards Harry.

"Marge, calm down, your blood pressure will rise," Vernon came to intervene at the last second. He gave a nervous glance towards Harry before continuing, "I will deal with the little freak."

Marge's glare would have withered even the flowers in full bloom as she went past Harry into the house. Vernon looked relieved for a second before a furious expression appeared over his face.

"What was that about? I thought we had a deal," Vernon grabbed Harry by his collar and whispered furiously.

"The deal was about my _unnaturalness," _Harry glared at Vernon, "Not about being a slave. Now let me go or else."

Hearing the threatening note in Harry's voice, Vernon paled and let go of him.

"Better take the luggage inside," Vernon's voice was shaky as he went into the house leaving Harry alone with the huge suit case.

Harry gave an exasperated sigh. So much for standing up to Dursleys. He still had to do the work. At least now he could do whatever he pleases with his Aunt's clothes. One thing was for sure. Marge was in for a very uncomfortable vacation.

…

The days following Marge's arrival were miserable, not only for Harry but for Marge too. Stepping in a pile of dog poop as soon as you wake up wouldn't make you happy, no matter how much you love dogs. After every prank, Marge had come to Harry fuming, intent on punishing him but Dursleys had intervened, not trusting Harry to keep his word. Harry, himself, was coming to the end of patience with Marge. The woman wouldn't let go of any opportunity to insult Harry or his parents. It was through sheer will power that he had managed to avoid hexing the fat woman. It was a good thing then that his stay over Dursleys was coming to an end.

A couple of days before Marge arrival, he had received the owl from Hogwarts with the book list along with the form for elective classes, which he had forgotten to submit at the end of last term. Having a young version of dark lord running rampant could do that to you. Hogsmeade slip had also come with that letter.

He had decided to stay in the Leaky Cauldron for the whole month before Hogwarts. That way, he could be away from Dursleys and get some decent reading done. Sirius had also planned on departing at the beginning of August. It was a long way to Hogwarts from where they were now, and he wanted to be there at the start of the next month.

On the night before he was planning to go Diagon Alley, Harry was rudely interrupted by the banging window. Groaning, Harry sat up and put on his glasses.

"What in the name of Merlin is going on?" he grumbled to himself before going to the window and opening it. Immediately he was assaulted by a horde of owls. Startled, Harry stepped back and fell on his backside.

"What the hell?" Harry swore and looked up on the owl circling above his head. Now that he looked closely, there were only three or four owls, including Hedwig who had disappeared for the last few days. But, in his small room, even three owls looked like a flock of birds.

Utterly confused, Harry motioned for Hedwig to come down. Hedwig landed beside the still on the floor Harry and stuck out her leg. Harry grasped the letter and untied it. Giving Hedwig one last look, who hooted affectionately, Harry opened the letter which turned out to be from Ginny and Luna.

"Oh," realization dawned on Harry as soon as he read the beginning of letter. It was his birthday! He had completely forgotten about it till a moment ago. Setting the letter aside, Harry turned towards the other package that Hedwig had brought him. It was a gift from Ginny.

He tentatively opened the packaging. Inside, was another homemade gift from her. This time, Ginny had made him some fudge. The sight was enough to make Harry hungry. He scooped a bit and put it in his mouth.

"Hm, delicious," Harry said before carefully putting the pack away. Next gift was from Luna. Expecting something weird as always, Harry opened the package only to be confronted by the sight of a book.

"Myths and their origins?" Harry spoke the title aloud, "I guess that qualifies as weird."

Putting the book away, he turned towards the last gift that was delivered. First, he opened the letter. It was from Hagrid. Tearing the package revealed a huge book with the title same as that of care of Magical creatures. It was a huge book with teeth and fangs.

"Guess I'll have to take Care of Magical Creatures too," Harry muttered to himself and put the book along with his other presents. He will take a better look at them when he was in Leaky Cauldron. For now, he will sleep so that he will have his full energy for an exhausting day tomorrow at Diagon Alley.

…..


	16. Chapter 16

**A/N: So once again I am back with the next chapter, after a looooong time (Heyy, you should be grateful that I am at least still updating the story.) Moving on to more important matter, It's almost been an year since I started posted this story. Amazing how time passes. In this time I have posted 16 chaptes in 52 weeks? that's almost one chapter per three week. Not bad I would say. What do you think? Do you want faster update a bit slower or maybe just at the same pace? Do leave the answer when you drop by to review. Nahhh, I'll just make a poll. Yes participate in that, will you? with that the next chapter.**

**...**

**December 25, 1979**

_Peverell._

For the first time he felt something akin to a consciousness. His time was coming near.

**July 31, 1980**

_Peverell._

Yes. His thoughts and emotions were returning to him slowly. He could feel it.

**August 11, 1980**

_Peverell._

He could feel it now. His hatred for that blasted name.

How long has it been since…

He couldn't remember. His memories were jumbled up. A mass of chaos all tangled. It was painful even to touch. Time held no meaning to him. Maybe minutes had passed, maybe years, maybe centuries maybe millennia, he couldn't remember.

Who was he? He couldn't remember.

What was he? He couldn't remember.

He was a mess. That was the only thing his jumbled up mind could decipher.

Even then, even being unable to process the basic thoughts, one image and one emotion was all too clear to him.

It was the image of a young man that was evoked in his mind.

It was the emotion of hatred which he could recall.

And one name associated with that image and emotion.

Peverell.

His time had come, he knew it. Soon, he would be free to pursue his revenge

That was his last coherent thought before the anarchy took over his mind completely.

…..

Harry heaved a big sigh as he got down from the Knight Bus. His first experience with the bus hadn't ranked highly, the sharp turns and the almost bizarre movements of bus not agreeing with him.

Shaking his head to get rid of the nauseous feeling, Harry entered the Leaky Cauldron. The pub was as lively as ever. Filled to the brim with chatting wizards and witches. Quickly, he made his way towards the bartender.

"Oh hello Mr. Potter," Tom said jovially as soon as he spotted Harry.

"Hello Tom," Harry smiled, "Can I have a room to stay in for the next month please?"

"Of course Mr. Potter," Tom answered, "You are always welcome in our humble inn."

"Great," Harry said enthusiastically, "If you will, take my luggage to the room. I have some shopping to do."

"As you wish Mr. Potter," Tom replied before he motioned to a young man waiting. As soon as he came, Tom gave him a key. "Here take the luggage to room 26."

"Yes sir," the man answered and took his luggage upstairs.

"Would you be staying for some lunch before shopping," Tom inquired.

"No." Harry simply shook his head. "Well then I must be going now."

"See you later Mr. Potter," Tom nodded his head.

Harry bid the old bartender farewell and started walking towards the entrance to Diagon Alley. Today on his agenda were course books and buying a gift for Ginny's upcoming birthday.

A month passed like that for Harry, Ginny and Luna. Harry living in the inn and practicing as much as he can while the girls enjoying their life together. Once or twice, Harry took the knight bus to St. Ottery Catchpole to visit the girls but mostly he would live in Diagon Alley. During the time that they would get together, they made plans on how to capture the rat so that they would know the truth about Sirius Black and what happened on that fateful Halloween almost thirteen years ago.

The first of September rolled around before they even knew it and Harry, Ginny, and Luna were boarding the Hogwarts express once again. The platform was full of people taking about one thing, escape of Sirius Black. Even after two months the public interest in the escaped convict hasn't settled at all.

"I am telling you," Ginny explained as they searched for a compartment together, the three having arrived at the platform at almost the same time. "This is the first time in history that someone had ever escaped from Azkaban. That's why it's such a big thing."

"Surely though," Harry argued, "Someone must have escaped it before. I mean prisoners find a way to escape from even the tightest of security."

"Maybe in the muggle world." Ginny shook her head. "Dementors guard Azkaban and they say no one can escape from a Dementor."

"Dementors?" Harry questioned. "Aren't they considered dark creatures? Why would ministry employ such creatures to guard some of the notorious criminal?"

Ginny shrugged her shoulders having no answer to that. "It's the ministry?"

"That would explain it," Harry smiled and turned towards Luna who had remained silent throughout the whole conversation. "What don't you have any brilliant theories to share with us this time Luna?"

It was an uncharacteristically serious Luna who answered. "Honestly, I have no idea why would ministry even entertain the thought of dealing with such creatures. We don't know much about them. There is no record of any dementor ever being killed. We don't understand the mechanism on which they work. What exactly do they feed on? Why do they instill such feeling of fear? How can they just suck your happiness out? There are too many unknowns while dealing with the dementors. I am against even the idea of giving them the leash of the some of the worst dark wizards and witches in history."

"Whoa!" Harry exclaimed, "Wasn't expecting that."

"Of course," Luna continued, "It could all be attributed to the fact that the dementors seem to have an infestation of wrackspurts and are considered to be a natural cross breed of muzlapas and cornfuses."

"Wasn't expecting that either," Harry mumbled.

"Alright, That's enough of theories for a day," Ginny said as she absentmindedly opened the door of a compartment, "Oops, someone's already here."

She was about to slowly close the door again, owing to the fact that the man was asleep when Harry stopped her. She turned towards him a questioning look on her face but found him staring straight ahead. She followed his line of gaze and found herself looking at a worn out but well-kept suit case with some initials inscribed on it.

"R.J. Lupin?" Ginny whispered, "That name sounds familiar."

"He was one of the marauders," Harry answered without a sliver of emotion. The man twitched as if waking up but nothing else happened.

"What?" the shock was evident in Ginny's voice. "But I thought…."

"Whatever you thought, you thought wrong," Harry answered gravely. "Why don't we sit in here. It's almost empty as it is."

"I am sure there are empty compartments ahead," Ginny said with a raised eyebrow, "there is still some time before the train leaves."

But Harry had already gone inside the compartment and was stowing his trunk. Ginny and Luna shared a look before they too went inside the compartment.

The three friends crammed in the empty berth and started talking in hushed voices, mindful of the sleeping man. At least Ginny and Luna talked. Harry for the most part kept staring at the sleeping person.

They knew that it was a full moon last night, so they kept the disturbance to the minimal. Lupin was a werewolf and even with the access to wolfsbane potion they knew it couldn't be an easy night for him.

"Anyway," Ginny whispered, "Why would Dumbledore hire a werewolf? Not to say he is bad or anything." She shot a quick glance at Harry but he was still staring at Remus Lupin. "It's just that the public view of werewolves isn't positive. Parents would be mad if they knew a werewolf was teaching their children."

"Hmm." Luna tilted her head. "Maybe because he is an alien trying to conquer the world."

"Huh?" Ginny blinked owlishly but Luna was already nodding her head furiously like there could be no other explanation.

As the train started moving, the usual cheer was noticeably absent from the compartment. There was only one thing on the mind of three friends. Why did Dumbledore hire Remus Lupin? The timing made the answer a bit easier to guess but they were hesitant to say it out loud. It wasn't a matter that they could take so easily.

As the train left England and entered Scotland, Ginny noticed a thin mist settling around the train. At first she didn't think any of it, the day was unusually cold for September, but as the train kept moving forward, the mist turned into a light fog which grew denser and denser as they grew closer to Hogwarts. Finally, the fog became so thick that nothing could be seen outside the window. The temperature had already dropped several degrees.

"What's wrong with this weather?" Ginny complained rubbing her arms as she shivered in the near freezing temperature.

"It shouldn't be this cold," Harry frowned, having snapped out of his constant staring by the dropping temperature. "It's still September."

Before anyone could answer, the train halted with a sudden screech. The three friends almost thrown down by the sudden brakes.

Luna got up and peered out of the window. Even in the thick fog, she could see several silhouettes just ahead of their compartment near the entrance. As she squinted her eyes trying to make out who were those people, she felt her heart drop, her complexion rapidly becoming paler than a ghost.

"Dementors," she whispered turning towards her friends, her face was completely ashen. "Dementors are boarding the train."

"What?" Harry and Ginny cried out in unison.

Just then, the blanket covering the man was thrown off and he stood up in one fluid, rapid movement, scaring the life out of Harry and Ginny. The terror of dementors enough to wake him up.

"Did you just say Dementors are boarding the train?" The man was tall and thin, his hair more on the side of gray than brown. His voice was deep and growling.

Luna nodded her head, staring at the man who had emerged from underneath the blanket. He didn't look too healthy. His clothes were a bit shabby but clean. Anyone could guess that he didn't have the most comfortable life.

"They shouldn't be here," the man murmured. "They were expressly forbidden to interfere with the train."

Harry, Ginny and Luna just kept staring at the man who seemed to be lost in a world of his own. Finally, he snapped his head up, his eyes locking onto Harry's for a brief moment before he started moving towards the door.

"Lock the door," the man said in a commanding tone. "And under no circumstance will you open it unless you hear my voice okay?"

Harry, Ginny and Luna nodded solemnly. Dementors weren't a thing to be taken lightly and none of them wished to be in the presence of one if they could help it.

As soon as Remus Lupin left, the door was locked behind him. A strange tension hung in the air. No words were spoken as they waited for Remus Lupin to return. The cold kept on increasing till they were sure the temperature had fallen below freezing point. The three friends huddled together to remain as warm as possible. As the bone chilling temperature kept on going down, a sense of despair came over them. Their hearts sank as they started to remember the worst memories of life. They could almost feel the happiness being sucked away from.

Just then, they heard someone trying to open the compartment door. Looking up, they saw a strange shape through the window. For a few seconds, it tried to open the door. When it didn't open, the shape moved on.

As the shadow passed, the temperature rose back up and slowly the three friends returned to normal. They could see each other's pale skin and haggard face and knew without a doubt that they looked exactly the same.

"That was," Harry tried to search for the right word. "Intense."

"That's one way of putting it," Ginny replied.

"The question is," Luna said while shaking her head. "What were the dementors doing on the Hogwarts Express? I doubt Sirius Black would stow himself on the train to get to Harry."

"I think the cheerful environment of the train drew them in," Ginny said thoughtfully. "If I remember correctly, the dementors prey on the happiness, and no doubt there would be a lot of laughter since everyone would have met their friends after a whole summer."

"That makes sense," Harry nodded. One good thing that had come from the presence of dementors was that Harry had temporarily forgotten about Remus Lupin and was actively taking part in the discussion now.

Just then they felt the train lurch and starting to move forwards. All three friends let out a visible sigh of relief.

The compartment door opened and Remus Lupin entered. He was carrying a large chocolate bar in his hand.

"Are you three okay?" Remus inquired as soon as he sat down.

The three nodded slowly.

"Here." He said breaking the bar in four piece. "Chocolate helps in driving away the after effect of Dementors."

"Thanks," Ginny said, immediately taking the bar and started munching on it happily.

Harry and Luna were a bit slower on taking the chocolate but seeing Ginny eating the chocolate with a blissful expression they too bit down into their pieces.

The effect was instantaneous. The gloominess visibly left their faces and they could feel warmth in their cold limbs.

Remus nodded with a satisfied expression on seeing the better condition of the three students.

"So." Luna munched on the chocolate bar. "Are you our new defense Professor?"

Remus smiled. "Smart deduction Miss?"

"'Lovegood, Luna Lovegood."

"Miss Lovegood. And you two?"

"Ginny, Ginny Weasley."

"You already know my name." Harry answered flatly.

What followed was a tense silence as Ginny and Luna sat there awkwardly, while all traces of a smile vanished from the face of Remus Lupin.

"Just because your name is known, Mr. Potter, doesn't mean you shouldn't introduce yourself. I wasn't expecting such a behavior from a student who has received such high praise from almost all the teachers." Remus said in a calm tone.

"What right do you have to expect anything from me?" Harry growled. "When you saw fit to abandon your charge at someone else's doorstep."

The look of shock on Remus's face was almost comical. He leaned back unintentionally as his features completely turned ashen. "W-what?" he croaked out.

"Don't try to act so innocent Remus Lupin," Harry sneered. "I have read the will of my parents." His breath was shallow as he tried to rein in his anger. "My parents, they made you my guardian. And you, you left me at the blasted house of my relatives."

"Don't be stupid." Remus said, having largely recovered from the shock. "I never could have taken your guardianship."

"Because you are a werewolf?" Harry whispered with malice. "I am not a stupid boy. There are no laws concerning werewolves about guardianship. Was it because you didn't want me. Why would you run from your duty? Obviously my parents thought you were good enough to be my guardian, then why? Why?"

"If you are not stupid then you should know it was because of your fame. Because you defeated Voldemort. If the people knew that a werewolf was your guardian, then they would have taken you away. I didn't want that."

"You didn't even visit once," Harry said. "Do you even know the kind of life I was living there. DO YOU EVEN CARE?" The voice that had started as low and controlled had turned full of rage and agony by the end.

"Of course I do," Remus answered, for once in the conversation his eyes blazing, "you are the son of my best friend, how could I not?"

"Then where were you when I was beaten, abused and starved. Where were you when I was lying on my back with every single bone broken in my limbs. Where were you when I was fainting from being starved to the point of death. Where the heck was you when my drunk uncle was pointing a fully loaded double barrel gun at my forehead threatening to kill me for no goddamn reason. Is that how you care?

Remus's shoulders were hunched low as he answered, the sadness and the hurt was visible in his voice. "I- It-It's not that simple."

"Forget it, I don't care." Harry answered turning his head and staring out of the window.

Ginny looked at the visibly shook Remus, let out a low sigh and scooted closer to Harry, taking his hand into her own.

The rest of the train ride continued in a tense silence and it couldn't have ended any later for the three friends. Ginny and Luna were visibly glad to be out of the gloomy air in the compartment as they walked towards the carriages.

"Don't you think you were a little bit harsh on Professor Lupin," Ginny asked tentatively. "Shouldn't you have asked his side of story."

"I don't want to talk about it," was the answer that Ginny got. As they drew closer towards the Hogwarts ground, they noticed the same fog that they had encountered during the train ride.

"That doesn't look good," Luna said worriedly.

As the carriage passed through the gate, they once again experienced the same despairing feeling, though this time it wasn't that strong and no dementors were visible.

"Dementors? Here at Hogwarts?" Ginny gave a questioning look towards her friends. "That doesn't make sense."

"Don't you think they are going a bit overboard over an escaped fugitive," Harry asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Sirius is the only person ever to escape from the impregnable wizarding prison of Azkaban," Luna explained serenely. "British Ministry has always boosted that no one can ever get out of Azkaban. If they don't catch him, they will not only be the laughing stock of the country but the whole world."

"Wonder how they will take it if they had really caught the wrong person?" Ginny mused. "With all these tools like truth serum and Legillimency it's practically impossible to imprison a wrong person."

"But that's the thing," Harry said. "I read in a book that the use of Veritaserum is only restricted to especially dangerous cases and even then if the jury deems it necessary. It's considered the violation of basic human rights to force someone to drink a truth serum while the use of Legillimency is completely banned in the court proceedings. Evidence gained through the Legillimency are not acceptable at court."

"Politics," Ginny sighed. "No wonder Dad looks so worn out after the day at the ministry."

During their talk, they had reached the front of the castle. The huge doors were opened completely to allow the students in. Harry, Ginny, and Luna noticed that more than a few students looked ill at ease and were whispering to each other about something.

The atmosphere in the hall was similarly tense, the usual cheer present at the staff table was absent too. Almost every Professor looked unusually grim and serious, except for Snape. He always looked like it was the funeral of his most beloved. The only one looking his usual self was Dumbledore.

The sorting went normally and the feast was delicious enough to make them forget their worries. At the end as per schedule, Dumbledore stood up to give out the start of term notification.

"First of all," like always his eyes were twinkling as if by magic, as his sharp gaze swept over every single student. "I must introduce you to a new Defense Professor." Here his eyes turned towards Remus Lupin sitting a bit to his right. "At the end of Last term, due to a tragic accident. Professor Lockhart became unable to continue his duties. To take his duties, please welcome Professor Remus Lupin."

There was a small applause following this announcement. "Now once again, I must return to my yearly chore of some notices. The forbidden forest like always is forbidden. The list of restricted items has been updated. Please take a look at it before going to bed. And as per the rules of Hogwarts, no magic is allowed in the corridors."

Dumbledore took a small breath following the last announcement. "Now there is one more announcement concerning all of the students here." The smile that was ever present on his face became a little thinner. "Many of you would have felt the presence of Dementors while entering Hogwarts. Rest assure, they are here to ensure your own safety. Following the break out of the notorious Sirius Black," murmurs broke out in the halls as soon as Sirius's name was mentioned. "Minister Fudge saw it fit to grant Hogwarts with a little bit of his protection and henceforth Dementors were dispatched."

Whispering increased after hearing Dumbledore's last line. There were a lot more relaxed faces knowing that the dementors were fully under the control of ministry.

"I must warn you though," Dumbledore spoke up once again, silencing the whole hall as they gave him all of their attention, "Even if the dementors are under the control of ministry, they are foul creatures and I must implore all of you to not go near them. Though I have been given a full guarantee by the minister of magic himself that the dementors will not enter the ground, I would still ask of you to be wary while going out. That is all!"

As soon as Dumbledore sat down, chatter started throughout the hall, no doubt discussing the latest placement of Dementors around Hogwarts and its connection to Sirius Black.

Not paying any attention to the discussions going all around them, the three friends got up and started walking out of the hall. Their destination an empty classroom.

As soon as they found one, they collapsed into the chairs present, the day having been quite emotionally upheaving for the lot.

"So how are we going to catch the rat?" Harry asked the most pressing question of the time.

"It would have been hard enough with him living in the boys' dormitory but now that he has a room of his own, how are we going to enter that?" Ginny said.

"I don't know," Luna disagreed. "Taking the rat might not be as hard as you think, I mean we have the map and the cloak."

"We have the map and the cloak?" Harry tilted his head, "We have the map and cloak?" he whispered again. "Map and Cloak?" Map and Cloak?" suddenly he got up, "We have the bloody map and the cloak. How can we be so stupid?"

"You are rubbing off on us," Ginny answered promptly, making Luna smile and Harry glare.

"I am not stupid, let me tell you that," Harry pouted.

"Alright, Alright," Luna said getting up. "It's time for us to sleep or we might get infested by drowsers."

"There is no such thing as drowsrs is there?" Ginny said. "You just made that up didn't you?"

"Who knows?" Luna tilted her head and smiled, "Maybe they are real, maybe they are not."

….

The vast grounds were completely empty under the light moon, as the dimly visible green grass peacefully swished in the night air. Not even the hooting of the owls was to be heard. Right at the edge of the ground was a forest, dark and dense. Not a single ray of moonlight could be seen passing through the thick foliage of leaves. The forest looked as chaotic as the ground was calm, it's darkness contrasting sharply with the peacefulness of the bright green grass.

The peaceful grass was disturbed as a small animal rapidly passed through the ground. He entered the ground from the other end where a huge castle stood. From wherever the rat passed, the grass would split looking like a single line moving forward towards the dark forest. The rat passed the ground with the same speed as he had entered, once again leaving the ground as serene and peaceful as ever. Not a single trace of the disturbance lay behind.

With lightning speed, the rat entered the dark forest, expertly moving through the twigs, branches and the roots that lay in his path. Though luck was not on his side tonight as a snake lunged at him as soon as he entered the forest. Seeing him in the last moment before he would become a dead rat, he turned back with a speed even greater than before if it was possible. The snake though wasn't going to let his prey walk away so easily. With a speed borne of years of hunting and snake's inherent Agility, he chased the rat. The way wasn't easy. It wasn't a path at all on which this struggle of life and death was happening. It was just a part of forest where animals would roam in search of food, whether plant or animals.

Rats has a keen sense of smell. He could sniff the weeks old blood that was splattered on the ground, coated over by a stronger smell of blood which was fresher. Only a few drops of blood left by the hungry animals was enough to tell him what had happened. The smell only served to pushed him into a frenzy as he ran even faster from his hunter. But the snake had a prey to catch and hunters don't let the hunted run away so easily.

The game of cat and mouse, or snake and rat continued. There is nothing better than the fear of death to push your boundaries, and the rat demonstrated just that, running faster with every moment, fearing the next moment could be his last.

Ultimately, the snake was going to get his prey, that much was visible from the chase, as the rat began to grow tired visibly. Just as the snake recoiled to perform one last lunge, it stopped and stared ahead. Letting out a powerful hiss, the snake backtracked, abandoning his prey.

The rat, though, didn't stop, moving with the same lightning like speed, he continued forward. His goal was just ahead and he feared the snake may change his mind.

He could see a bit of light ahead, just a few steps in front of him. The distance growing ever shorter and his joy increasing further. A few more seconds of struggle and he had reached his destination.

The first thing he noticed was a tall figure sitting against a tree. Not a single feature was visible among the darkness that shrouded him. The night was denser where he sat and the only thing he could feel was malevolence.

"_You are late." _The man hissed in a slow voice.

The rat began rapidly changing and in a moment a short balding man was standing in his stead. His robes were in tatters and his front two teeth were chattering as he approached the figure. He was Peter Pettigrew, the murderer of the Potters and the spy among the ranks of light that no one knew about.

"I-I-I am s-s-sorry, My Lord," Peter whimpered while bowing low, his head almost touching the ground. "I was delayed due to a snake attacking me."

"A snake?" the man sounded amused as the hissing voice was replaced by a normal but far deeper than average voice. "Pettigrew the rat, being chased by a snake. That would have given me a few good laughs."

"I-I am pleased I could h-h-have been of s-s-service My Lord," Peter managed to squeak out.

The man laughed, his voice echoing through the forest, running down the spine of Peter Pettigrew like the chilled air of January. "As Pathetic as ever Pettigrew." The man got up. "Come on, we have a lot of work to do. Have you gotten everything I asked you to get?"

"Y-Yes My Lord," Peter immediately nodded his head.

"That's good." He nodded and started walking ahead of Pettigrew.

After a few second of silence, he spoke up once again. "Tell me Pettigrew, why do you think this forest is called The Forbidden Forest?"

"Rumours say that there are werewolves prowling these forests." Pettigrew spoke up timidly.

"Believe me Pettigrew." His voice was as cold as ice as he spoke. "Werewolves are the least of your worries where we are going."

"You do know this forest is older than Hogwarts?" the man continued to ask questions.

"Yes my lord, I once read in a book that the forest is more than a thousand year older than Hogwarts at least."

"I am amazed Pettigrew," the man said. "That you can read a book much less understand it."

Pettigrew didn't answer just kept on following the man with his head bowed.

"Have you ever heard of the Nelirim?"

"Nelirim?" Pettigrew inquired.

"Trees of life they are called. Or the Gateways. They say there are only three trees of Nelirim in this world. One is the Gateway of heaven, One the Gateway of Abyss and one the Gateway of Hell."

Suddenly the man walking ahead stopped and started looking around. "We are here." He whispered.

"Give me the dagger," the man ordered stretching his hand.

"Y-Yes, My lord." The man started fumbling around in his pocket, finally bringing out a dagger.

Now he stretched his other hand staring straight ahead and raised the hand with the dagger. With a swift motion he brought it down and stabbed the bark of a tree in front of him.

Immediately a clear looking fluid started flowing out and the area ahead of them was illuminated in a strange glow.

"Take a wild guess Pettigrew," the man spoke with a smile. "Where the Gateway of Hell is located?"

Pettigrew didn't answer and just kept staring straight ahead at the clearing that had become visible. It was shrouded in a strange aura. Just the grass was emitting enough bloodlust to drive an unfearful person away. He could just see blood. Blood everywhere and yet when he blinked there was not a single speck of blood in front of him.

"Welcome Pettigrew." The man stretched out his hand. "To the graveyard of hell."

"Come now," the man spoke up once again, moving into the strangely illuminated clearing, his red hair came into view for a moment before he was once again shrouded in the darkness. "As long as you are with me, nothing will harm you here. Probably."

Pettigrew, knowing full well that his chances of survival were the best with his lord, moved forward, though his heart kept on screaming to run away from this place as fast as he can. Such was the terror of this place.

"Do you see that coffin up ahead," the man motioned towards a coffin resting against a tree. "That's where Vlad, the First Dracula, is bound."

"He is immortal they say." He continued, gazing at the blood red coffin with a black cross. "And his charm is such that you need to look into his eyes once and you will be forever his. When the wizard force finally managed to slay him, legend states that the devil himself didn't allow him in hell for the fear that he couldn't control him, so he returned from death. No matter how many times they killed him, he wouldn't just stay dead. In the end they just sealed him up here."

The man shook his head. "He is not what we are here for though. What we want today is much more powerful and deadly."

He moved towards the sole tree that was in the middle of the clearing, as he approached the tree, his eyes fell upon a settlement in ground in a perfect circle. The whole area was charred and blackened.

"Do you see that blackened dimple in the ground," the man motioned. "That's where the mightiest of the dragons lay. The Blood dragons. Their one breath was enough to wipe out a whole country. They were wise and arrogant. They ruled over the world before Humans came and wiped them out completely. A few survived though till recent times, living in hiding till the last one was finally sealed in 1400s."

As he looked around, he gave a loud laugh that just resonated in the empty clearance. "And that's not the only thing that is here Pettigrew. The blood Dragon, The First Dracula, they are only the beginning. Lilith the first Succubus, is sealed here. Even Eve is here."

With every name, Peter Pettigrew found it harder to breathe. These names were legends, myths. They weren't supposed to exist out of books and here he was, standing right at the place where they were sealed till eternity.

"But they all pale in comparison to the one that we are after," the man turned towards the tree. "The Last Demon."

"Demon!" Pettigrew squeaked. "B-But."

"They don't exist?" the man turned back. There was a feral smile playing on his lips. "Let me tell you Pettigrew. They are as real as you and I. Or they were. Since this is the last one left."

The man turned towards the tree. One could say that there was admiration in his eyes. "Their plane of existence though was different. This was but a simple place of recreation and enjoyment for them. Every year they would come in hordes, through the voids and kill hundreds of thousands and we couldn't do anything but try to send them back and even that was risky. And then, Merlin came. The man who is revered on the level of god. He gave us a way to fight back against the demons, to kill them. After that, they became extinct. Each and every single one of them were hunted down systematically till they thought that none remained."

"Almost after Eight hundred years of the last great Demon hunt, this appeared. But he came back a bit early. The method of killing the demons was lost to time but there was still enough strength left in the wizards that they could seal him. After a prolonged fight, finally he was sealed here. Fearing his great power, they grew a forest of chaos and discord around it so that none could find it. Even though there are so many great evils, the one that they feared the most was this demon."

By the end, it was almost like the man was talking to himself, the presence of Peter Pettigrew long forgotten. He drew close to the tree and place his hand upon the bark. Immediately, it started glowing and the strangest rune he had ever seen came into his sight. It was two flowing lines shaped like a river with an inverted V over them. Where the V intersected the flowing lines there was an opening and the lines flew into V.

"Come now Pettigrew," The man spoke in an excited tone. "We don't have time for dilly dallying."

"Y-Yes, My Lord." Pettigrew nodded and started placing the vials of blood red colours in a circular fashion.

As soon as Pettigrew finished, the man nodded and took out his wand. With a simple swish, the vials broke and the liquid in it settled in a perfect circle in front of the tree.

"Now," his voice was stern as he spoke. "Don't disturb me for the next six hours."

The man entered the circle. As soon as he was completely in, a strange light started glowing around him.

For the next six hours, the man kept sitting in the circle, his back ramrod straight and his eyes never leaving the bark of the tree in which the last demon was supposedly sealed. The liquid around him kept on changing colours.

Finally, after six hours there was a sound of twig breaking and then the whole tree burst into small splinters. Pettigrew who had fallen asleep by now immediately stood up and started looking around in a confused state.

"M-My Lord." Pettigrew tried to speak.

"Silence." The man spoke harshly. "Stay where you are."

Just then Pettigrew felt a shadow jumping over him. There wasn't even enough time left for him to respond in any kind.

"STOP!" the man shouted and immediately whatever was attacking Pettigrew stopped. The man stood up and faced towards Pettigrew. "You shall only do as I please." The authority in his voice was absolute and commanding.

The shadows retracted as a strange shape was revealed. He had six legs with a face vaguely resembling a human and a dog, and the body of a cockroach. In short, he was hideous.

"Who are you to command me, you little human," the voice he spoke in was high pitched.

"The one who set you free," The man answered.

"I demand a name human. I shall give you that privilege for freeing me before I eat you."

The man sneered. "Why don't you give it a try?"

"You dare?" the creature whispered dangerously. "I don't think you know who you have set you free."

"I know you pretty well," the man spoke with a mocking voice. "You are a demon, the last of the race who clung ever so fiercely to ancient days of glory long past."

"Why you?" the creature spoke as shadows began to lengthen around.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you," the man warned, "the blood is Phoenix blood."

Immediately the shadows retracted, "Phoenix Blood? I must say you have prepared yourself well."

"That is not all," the man smiled dangerously, "I also possess the mark of Cain now. That's the only way to seal you isn't it? By letting you kill the one who possess the mark of Cain."

The demon took a few steps back and in a moment, where a hideous creature was standing, now stood a beautiful woman with long blond hair, her face was soft and angelic, her eyes were deep shade of grey. The only thing that looked out of place were her clothes. It was something that a woman from the tenth century would wear.

"You hold all the card for now," her voice was melodious, a perfect match for her appearance. "Tell me then, why have you unsealed me?"

"To give you your revenge?" the man stated simply.

"My revenge?" the woman asked confusedly. Then her eyes went as wide as saucers as her features began to morph once again.

"Peverell!" she growled, "I can feel him."

"Yes," the man spoke calmly. "The task that I have for you is to kill him. He currently resides in a castle not far from here. It is up to you how you kill him.

She gave him a long hard look, "Is that all?"

"Yes," the man spoke, "That is all for now."

"Don't forget," the woman turned demon spoke in a sharp tone, "Once I have taken my revenge, I'll be coming for you. Be warned, I don't take kindly to being enslaved."

The man sneered, "Keep dreaming. You cannot even come close to matching me in power."

"We shall see," the woman answered. "What should I call you then?"

"You may call me Lord Voldemort."

…..


	17. Chapter 17

**A/N: Holy...! It's been two months already since I last posted. I would say I didn't realize that but then I remembered I actually was giving exams. Well they are gone and we have already been given our results, so Here I am with the next chapter of a series that is rapidly diverging from canon. On that note, Remember the line with Lilith and that thing about Mark of cain, That was just a homage to Supernatural. I am glad someone picked it up though. It's so crappy that I'll watch it again. I'll go and edit the last chapter in a few weeks to remove it though, since it has no bearing on the story. I hope you are enjoying this original (or as original as it can be.) take on Harry Potter. Have fun with the next chapter.**

Chapter 17

The demon surveyed the huge castle with contemptuous eyes. He could feel the wards around the place buzzing with power. He studied them intently, the myriads of runes glowing, visible only to the eyes that could comprehend the essence of magic. Within these runes were hidden the long history of the wards that protected the castle.

The wards were strong. That much was clear from just a look. But they had dwindled in strength since their inception around a thousand years ago. The ones who erected the wards were clever, tying them to the magical core of its residents. That had ensured that the wards would never fail completely. The thing that had betrayed them though was the weakness of humans.

He could sense it, the weak flames of magic inside the castle. Even if the humans were sleeping, the flames were still too weak, almost on the verge of being extinguished. Of course there were a few exceptions. A spattering of strong flames here and there. One of them, his captor whom he could sense moving underground. His flame was a bit odd though, almost like the joining of two flames.

But, all of them paled in front of the three flames that he could sense in one of the towers. So strong that they were overshadowing all the others nearby. Maybe infernos would be the right word for them. Yet, he could feel some sort of interference. Like he was sensing it through a huge barricade of magic.

He was a bit disappointed to see this. He would have enjoyed taming those three at the peak of their strength. It would have made good sport for him. But it looked like those three have yet to reach their full potential.

Too bad though, the demon sighed. The air that came out was slightly coarser and darker in colour, the leaves in its immediate vicinity rotting away. He would have to make some other plan to prolong their suffering. The way they were, they might die before the fun even began.

Tendrils thinner than hair rose from his body. With a short jabbing motion, he penetrated the wards. The wards pulsed and a small hole opened in the middle of tendrils. He leaned back waiting for the right moment. As soon as the hole was large enough he jumped, infiltrating the most secure facility in Britain like it was child's play.

In an instant, he became aware of something sinister coming his way. Instinctively, he jumped back stopping near the edge of the wards. In front of him was a cloaked creature he had never seen before. So focused was he on the Peverells that he hadn't noticed this creature prowling in the ground.

He could feel the temperature dropping around him as his worst memories came to surface. The creature took a rattling breath, sucking in the air and something else along with it. He felt something tugging inside of him but he shook it off.

Now he was curious, never before had a creature had this kind of effect on him. He eyed the creature from top to bottom who looked confused. Once again he took a breath. This time the tugging was sharper but he shook it off once again with ease.

The demon focused on the core of the creature, intent on figuring out this mystery. There was no flame yet the creature was magical. He could feel a plethora of souls inside the creature, all crying and screaming in anguish.

He focused even deeper, delving into the dark recesses of this creature that was without a doubt sinister. Strange, he never thought a creature truly evil existed. As he dived even further, he felt his way blocked by the consciousness of the creature.

The demon pulled out of the creature. It was a shame but if he wanted to know more, he had to kill this thing. Not much of a loss though, he concluded. Now that he was aware of the presence of this creature, he could feel a horde of them around this place.

Faster than lightning, he was behind the creature, even faster were his jaws closing around the creature's neck. The coarse dark fluid leaking out of his mouth freely now. Not even a moment for comprehension, not even an instant for the creature to feel the bloodlust of the demon that bathed the place was given. With a sharp jerk, he threw it to the ground. The demon gave a sharp hiss, it felt good to be hunting again.

The creature burst, and out of it came thousands of orbs of light that he could identify as the souls of humans. The demon gave a sneer. He felt no attraction to such a petty thing. He turned down and once again delved deep into the mind of this dark creature.

There were binding and traps, much stronger than the wards around this place that protected the place. Most of all, the insanity that engulfed it wasn't something that mere humans could stand. But he was a demon, the last of its kind. With ease, he traversed all the traps and walls that lay before him and came upon what he seeked.

He had to chuckle. The stupidity of humans was amusing, at least in this case. Though he had better things to do than laugh at humans.

With speed akin to that of light, he reached the gigantic castle. In a few jumps, he was peering through the large window in the tower. One of the three was in this room. While the other two were on the opposite side.

So easy. He thought as he stared at the face of the young boy who would fall victim to his revenge. So easy to kill him in his sleep and no one would even know. But then the burning of his revenge wouldn't fade. It would just be a hollow victory. No, he would make sure that they know the true meaning of despair. Of the terror that came when you know that you are the prey of a demon.

…..

At that instant, while the Demon was stalking its prey, Peter Pettigrew walked besides his lord in a passage way long forgotten.

"M-My Lord," Wormtail spoke, "Might I ask a question?"

"Questions are asked by the ones with a few brain cells Wormtail," Voldemort said and then laughed as if highly amused by his own joke. "Nonetheless, Tonight I shall humour the questions of someone as dim-witted as you are."

Pettigrew gave a grave sigh. For a moment there he had feared for his own life, thinking he had overstepped his boundary.

"Th-thank you My Lord, you really are gracious." Pettigrew whimpered. "My question is about that demon. Why did you feel the need to release that abomination for three lowly children?"

Voldemort smiled. "Just like a rat, your thoughts are small. Did you really think three children could be such a bother to me, even in the state that I am in? No, my dear Wormtail, No. They are but a test, a trial that I have put forth before the demon. The demon has some unfinished business with them, so he went there willingly. What he doesn't know, is that with every order that he follows, my hold over him strengthens. He really should have killed you Wormtail, only then he would have been able to break the shackles that I had bound him with."

"I don't understand My Lord." Confusion was evident in Pettigrew's voice.

"Of course not," Voldemort spoke with scorn. "Your intelligence isn't high enough. In simple term, Wormtail, I used you as bait to chain the Demon. I must admit, these things possess a powerful will and to subdue it, only a few spells of that calibre are left. The one that I used, required the subject to initially listen to you to take effect."

"I see." Pettigrew nodded as if he understood everything. "I am pleased that I could be of some use to you."

"Pray that this isn't the last time, Wormtail. The only reason I tolerate you is because I have no one else to rely on right now."

Wormtail bowed low, his whole body was shaking. "O-of course My Lord."

A silence fell as the two kept walking towards the Hogwarts castle. A few moments later, Pettigrew spoke up again.

"My lord, by your leave, may I ask another question?"

"Ask away Wormtail." Voldemort said. "But remember! this is a privilege not a right."

"I am humbled by your great kindness, My Lord." Peter spoke in a sugary tone.

Voldemort chuckled, the voice resonating eerily in the abandoned passageway. "Flattery will get you everywhere Wormtail."

Wormtail preened himself, a highly pleased look on his face.

"Except in the good graces of Lord Voldemort," the tone had turned icy. "Don't waste your words on flattery, you might find a better use for them while begging for your life like the pathetic rat that you are."

"As you command, My Lord." Wormtail bowed once again, though Voldemort had his back towards him. "I meant to ask you about the form that you took."

"An interesting question you ask Wormtail." Voldemort hissed more than he spoke. "It's a long story and most of it beyond your understanding Wormtail, nor do you have any need of it. Understand this though, whether in my original body or in the body of Percy Weasley, the might of Lord Voldemort shall be unchallenged, especially by children who have yet to hit puberty."

…..

The morning of the first day of classes had dawned bright and clear. As ever, our heroes were up since the crack of dawn training and putting their time to good use. Not to mention working a good appetite.

"Time for breakfast." Ginny declared as soon as the bell chimed in the room of requirement. "I am famished."

"Why am I not surprised." Harry muttered good naturedly.

"A growing girl needs her nutrients." Ginny said indignantly. "And I can burn the fat unlike some people." She added under her breath.

Not that Harry didn't hear it. "Hey," he protested. "This isn't fat." He flexed his biceps. "I have worked hard for these muscles and I won't let you insult them."

"Say that after you have developed some muscles." Ginny rolled her eyes, though her sight was fixed on Harry's sweating body.

"Alright alright," Luna broke in between the bantering. "First take a shower then you can argue. Swagglers are flying about you."

Ginny huffed as three doors appeared in the Room. Apparently, the room of requirement came with attached wash rooms.

After taking a good long bath, they put on their uniform and set out for the Great Hall where the breakfast would be serving by now.

It was still quite early so most of the Great Hall was empty, though a spattering of students could be seen here and there.

"It's not like the other three house teams need new players," Ginny continued the previous discussion. "But after the successful display of substitute players by Wood in the last two years, I think more captains would be leaning towards it."

"If they don't change the whole team after the thrashing they took from us in the Cup." Harry added. "The matches are almost getting boring."

"You mean when something isn't getting bewitched." Ginny interjected.

"That," Harry began, "Is something that I don't want. It's almost becoming a tradition that something happens in the first match of the year."

Sensing a shadow creeping closer, Harry looked up; coming face to face with a round faced boy with brown hair who looked nervous.

"Oh it's you Neville," Harry smiled. "Come sit down."

"Th-thanks Harry," Neville said. "H-Hello Ginny, H-Hello Luna." He greeted the two girls.

"Hey Neville." The girls greeted him back.

"So Neville, how was the summer?" Ginny asked casually, picking at her mostly eaten plate.

"Fine, Ginny," Neville spoke timidly. "Except for the part where Gran forgot me at the book store."

Harry and Ginny barely managed to hold in their snickers, it wouldn't have been good for Neville. He had really low self-esteem.

"There's a floo place there though," Harry spoke up. "All you needed to do was ask the manager and he would have let you use it. Your Gran's a pretty famous witch isn't she?"

Neville just ducked his head and slowly started putting food on his plate.

Harry, feeling quite satisfied looked towards the girls who had finished their foods. They nodded and stood up.

"Well Neville." Harry placed a hand on Neville's shoulder who was looking up curiously when his three friends stood up. "We'll be going to the class now. Hope you do better this year round. See you later."

As the door of the Great Hall closed behind them, the memories of Neville slowly faded from their mind, till not a trace of him was left. If someone asked them then who were they talking to in the Great Hall their answer would be with each other and no one else.

In the Great Hall, the one who was Neville, let out a hideous smile as his eyes sparked white. His plan was successfully in motion.

…

"You know being an animagus would be really cool," Harry said as they moved towards their next class, which just happened to be Transfiguration.

"We could ask Professor McGonagall about it but I bet it would be really hard," Ginny replied.

"We can do it though," Luna spoke up. "I don't imagine it would look much hard to us if continue at this rate."

As the trio conversed, they didn't notice a smaller body approaching them at a rapid pace. The collision was sudden and unexpected send it sprawling back, though not much happened to the trio.

Surprised they looked down and saw a small girl, preferably a first year, with long brown hair scampering to put her things back in her bag which had opened when she fell.

"I am sorry," The girl spoke in a soft voice, her voice was melodious and like music to their ears. "I am running a bit late so I was in a hurry and wasn't looking ahead."

Harry and the girls shared a look. There still was time in classes so for what the girl was in a hurry? They didn't know.

"Here let me help," Luna spoke as she bent down, picking up a book that was lying close by.

"Thanks," the girl said looking up. Her eyes were blue like sapphire and she really looked to be in her first year.

When the girl was taking the book, her eyes fell on the crest on Luna's chest. It was like she was struck by some unknown force; such was the ferocity of her recoil.

Luna tilted her head not understanding why the girl would back away so fast when she saw the insignia at the girl's robe. Understanding dawned on her as she took it in. It was a green snake.

"You are a Slytherin," she said, not meaning anything by it.

"So what?" The girl spoke sharply, her eyes shone with a light of defiance as she hurriedly put everything back in her bag and stood up. "Just because you are a Gryffindor don't think you are better than us."

She was about to storm off when Luna grabbed her hand. "Wait," she said holding her arm tightly not letting her move.

"What?" the annoyance was clear in her voice.

"I didn't mean anything by that comment," Luna said, absent was her ethereal aura as she held the gaze of the younger girl.

Such was the strength of her stare that the girl couldn't move, entranced she stood there, rooted to the spot.

"Though I apologize if it hurt your feelings." She finished her sentence lightly bowing her head and thus breaking the stare.

"Oh," the girl said bewilderedly as she came out of the trance. "I-I guess it's alright." Suddenly her cheeks were tinged pink as she realized her predicament. "I must go now."

And just like that, once again she was rushing along the corridor. They watched till the girl took a turn and vanished from their sight.

"Well you certainly went out of your way to apologize didn't you?" Ginny asked, a mischievous glint in her eyes.

Luna just shrugged and smiled. She turned around and started walking towards their classroom.

…..

Dumbledore sat in his office peering at the man who had just entered his office. His sunken eyes and his pale and drawn left no doubt as to his current financial position. His clothes though clean, looked old and worn; and the way they hung from his shoulder, one could say it had been a long time since he had eaten a healthy meal.

"Sit down Remus or would you prefer Professor Lupin?" Dumbledore gave a serene smile, his eyes twinkling in the signature style.

Remus gave a tight lip smile and sat on the offered chair. "Remus would be fine Professor."

"Ah that won't do." Dumbledore shook his head and picked up a bowl. "Lemon Drop?"

Remus shook his head.

"A shame. No one takes them when they are so good." Dumbledore sighed. "As I was saying, if you insist on Remus then I must insist that you call Albus. I am no longer your headmaster and hasn't been for quite a long time."

"If you insist. Albus." It was clear though that the man wasn't comfortable calling his old headmaster by his first name.

"I hope that you are as much fond of the food here at Hogwarts as I remember you to be," Dumbledore said, his keen eyes giving him a once over in which a flicker of worry could be seen.

"The house elves are as talented as ever." Remus grimaced as if he didn't like the topic. "Now for what purpose did you call me into your office?"

"Ah yes," Dumbledore leaned back in his chair though his eyes never wavered from Remus' face. "It concerns with the matter of your appointment."

"Sirius Black," Remus whispered softly. "I guessed as much."

"Not that it means you are any less talented," Dumbledore explained. "When I saw your application, I was really pleased that for once someone really competent applied for the job. You had been one of the best students among your year, though a tad bit mischievous." At this Dumbledore's eyes twinkled. "It has been hard to find good teachers for the job of Defence Against the Dark Art since the rumour of the curse had spread."

Dumbledore took a breath and surveyed the face of Remus Lupin which without any expression. Yet, Dumbledore saw many things. He didn't need Legillimency for such basic things; his experience was sufficient in such matters. He saw pride and a little bit of satisfaction in the eyes of old wolf. Yes, he just needed a little more push.

"I would have hired you regardless but the matter of Sirius Black aided in my decision, not to mention another matter." Dumbledore stopped and popped a lemon drop in his mouth.

"What matter?" Remus asked curiously.

"I heard that you shared a compartment with one Mr. Potter and his friends during the train ride?" Dumbledore enquired all of sudden, at least to Remus it looked sudden.

"Huh?" Remus let out, dumbfounded by the sudden change in topic. "Yes, I sat with them."

"How was his attitude towards you?" Dumbledore asked keenly.

"Cold; Indifferent at best." Remus head slouched. "Not that I deserved any better," he muttered to himself though Dumbledore's sharp ears picked it up.

"Now Remus there's no point in self depreciation." Dumbledore took off his glasses rubbing his nose and sighed. "You had your own sorrows to account for. If someone has to be blamed for Harry's situation, it is I."

Remus tried to speak up but Dumbledore held up a hand. He stopped for a moment, apparently busy in clearing his glasses. "I was the one who put them with those muggles, knowing full well that his childhood could be rough. Yet, I was given no choice. Though I fear, in doing so I made a blunder."

"Blunder? Merlin did they do something horrible to him." Remus gasped, fear was evident in his eyes. And concern, concern for the child whom he had come to love as his own. And abandoned.

"Nothing physical," Dumbledore spoke. "Though sometimes the psychological scars are deeper than physical ones."

"Don't speak in riddles," Remus impatiently spoke. "Tell me what happened."

"Very well then." Dumbledore sighed once again. "Before coming to Hogwarts, Mr. Potter was actively deprived of any chance at cultivating a long term relationship. In short, Mr. Potter had no friends. According to the reports that I received, he seldom talked to others and his only communication was with his cousin and his band of friends which, in mild terms, was unhealthy for Mr. Potter."

"You mean they used to beat him up," Remus arched an eyebrow and asked.

For a moment, Dumbledore was silent. "That would be correct."

"I guess orphans are subjected to more bullying than others." Remus said though it was clear that this litter piece of information was hard for him to swallow.

"What about his relatives?" Remus asked suddenly. "They didn't do anything of this sort to him, did they?"

"I believe that their attitude was a bit harsher than normal but no more." Dumbledore answered.

Remus squinted his eyes and looked at Dumbledore shrewdly as if he wanted to gauge whether the old man had spoken the truth or not.

Dumbledore said nothing and just calmly returned his gaze. In the end it was Remus who looked away first.

"Due to his lonely childhood Mr. Potter latched onto the first chance of friendship which was offered to him. Which I believe would prove disastrous to him." He explained.

"You mean the girls?" Remus exclaimed. "Surely you must be joking. They are wonderful. Every teacher was singing praises for them during the feast."

"I fear it's a mask they wear to deceive the world." Dumbledore's voice was weary as he spoke, as if it pained him greatly to say such things.

"Don't be ridiculous." Remus' face was contorted with shock. "They are children. Barely thirteen. I must apologize but have you lost your mind?"

"It's alright Remus. I expected such a reaction from you." Dumbledore answered. "But believe me when I say this, I have seen children younger than them twisted by the dark world they live in. You were a lucky exception Remus. You found good friends. Otherwise." Dumbledore trailed off, though the end of his sentence was terribly clear.

"I know Albus. I know." Remus nodded. "And I am forever grateful for the part you played in it. If you haven't given me admission in Hogwarts, I might have strayed down the wrong path."

"And now you must protect the son of your best friends from going down that same path." Dumbledore urged. "The girls are too far gone. They cannot be saved. Still I will do whatever I can to help them but you must focus on Harry. Get him away from the girls as soon as possible."

Dumbledore had finished speaking and was looking at Remus waiting for an answer. But he couldn't bring himself to. In his mind a war was waging on. At one side, he had observed the three first hand not only during the train ride but also during the feast and the meals. He just couldn't bring himself to believe that those girls could be evil. But then again, he never thought that Sirius was a traitor. He owed a debt of gratitude to his old headmaster. He had seen himself, the kindness of Albus Dumbledore.

"I'll see what I can do." Remus spoke finally after a long silence before he got up. "Now I must take leave headmaster. I have tomorrow's lesson to prepare."

"Of course Remus." Dumbledore inclined his head slightly.

As Remus left through the door, Dumbledore let out a sigh. Remus was too smart, but he had no other option. He must get Harry away from the girls, no matter how, and back on the right track or else his carefully laid plans would be destroyed completely.

…

"I am telling you, your wand movement was wrong," Ginny insisted as they walked back from the last class of the day. It had been a tiring day and the usual light hearted bickering always made them feel refreshed for the upcoming training session.

"No it wasn't," Harry denied. "As proved by the perfect spell I performed. Professor Flitwick even awarded me ten points for it."

"No you missed the tiny circular motion at the end, it could have disastrous results." Ginny argued.

"You are just jealous I got the spell before you." Harry blew a raspberry.

"Your spell was just a fraction of a bit faster than me." Ginny exclaimed. "And It wouldn't have been if you hadn't taken a shortcut."

"See." Harry said triumphantly. "She's just upset that I won."

"No you didn't." Luna interceded. "I was the one who performed the spell first and that too without taking any shortcut." She said pointedly.

"Why do you keep saying that like I committed a crime." Harry accused. "You should be appreciating that I found a useless movement that you don't have to do anymore."

"That was more of an accident. You just forgot to do it." Ginny replied, elbowing Harry in his stomach.

"Ouch." Harry rubbed his stomach and glared at Ginny who just pretended that it didn't happen. "And no it didn't. It was a calculated move that I made." He declared.

"As calculated as slipping off the floor." Ginny muttered under her breath.

Just then their eyes fell on a small girl crossing the corridor. Her head was bowed and she clutched her books to her bosom, despite having a bag on her back. Though her long brown hair could still be remembered from the morning.

"Oh, hello there." It was Luna who spoke first. The girl flinched when she heard her voice. Her eyes darted around as if looking for an escape.

Luna approached the girl as if she oblivious to the girl's dilemma. The nearer she came; more nervous the girl became.

Luna bent down bringing herself to eye level with the girl. "Is there something wrong?"

The girl squeaked but no other voice came from her.

"Luna!" Ginny spoke from behind. "You are making her nervous."

"But why?" Luna stood up and tilted her head in a questioning way. "I haven't done anything wrong to her have I?"

"She can't be seen with us." Ginny said vaguely motioning towards the girl's robe.

"Hey I can speak for myself." For some reason the girl bristled.

"Oh really. I thought you were a mute." Ginny shot back immediately.

"Ginny that's enough. That was wrong." Harry stepped in before it could heat up too much.

"Tell her that." Ginny snapped.

"She's two years younger than you, show some restraint." Harry tried to calm her down.

"Hey I have an idea." Luna suddenly spoke, her eyes were bright with excitement. "We can take her _there."_

"There?" Harry asked quizzically before he came to understand what Luna was saying. "Oh _there. _Are you sure?"

Luna nodded her head. "Yeah, no one can see us there." She turned towards the girl who was just standing there looking at them confused.

"We want to talk to you. Will you come with us?" Luna asked.

The girl was silent for a moment. "I don't know but the Weasley is right. If I am seen with you, it would be bad especially for me."

"Don't worry about it." Luna smiled and shook her head. "We'll go through corridors that aren't used anymore."

"Come on let's go." Luna put her arm around her shoulder and started walking.

"Hey wait." The girl tried to say but Luna just kept on walking.

"Why are we just trying to kidnap a girl." Ginny whispered to Harry.

Harry looked at her and shrugged his shoulder.

As promised the corridors they went through were deserted. This was a route that they had picked from the marauders Map and they often used to avoid questions. It was a route to Room of Requirement.

Luna lead the way, almost dragging along the girl while Harry and Ginny followed at some distance puzzled over Luna's behaviour.

After they had reached the corridor, Luna let the girl go and started to pace in front of the wall.

"Hey, what are you," The girl tried to speak but was silent by a hand on her shoulder. Looking up, she saw Harry standing there with a finger pressed to his lips.

Confused she looked back towards Luna but was startled to find an ornate door where before was just a blank piece of wall.

Luna opened the door beckoning the girl in. Hesitantly she moved forward. As soon as she stepped through the door she found herself in a lavish room full of plush chairs and a table full of snacks.

"Welcome." Luna's voice was heard from behind her. "To the Room of Requirement."

"Room of Requirement?" The girl repeated Luna. "What's that."

"It's a magical room that provides anything you need." Ginny explained.

"No way." The girl said in disbelief.

"Try it out." Harry spoke up. "Just imagine something that you want and it will appear in front of you."

For a few seconds the girl kept staring at Harry like he had gone mad, or that they were playing a lame prank on her. When she found their expression to be serious, she let out a huff.

Closing her eyes, she thought of something that she wanted. But nothing came to her mind. Odd now that she could have anything she wanted, none of her desires were coming to her mind. Frustrated, she just wished for the first thing that came to her mind.

When she opened her eyes, she couldn't help but let out a startled yelp when she found a quill in her hand.

"See," Ginny smiled at the girl. "But the restriction is that you can't take anything conjured here out of this place. It would simply disappear."

"But you can't tell anyone else about this place." Luna added seriously. "It's kind of our secret place."

"Then why did you bring me here?" the girl asked the obvious question.

Harry and Ginny too turned towards Luna wanting to hear her answer.

"Because we couldn't have talked anywhere without the possibility of being interrupted." Luna explained.

"But there are lot of unused classroom we could have used," Harry protested.

"We don't know a way where we wouldn't have been seen together." Luna answered.

"Oh." Harry realized. "That's right."

"But what could be so important that we have to talk?" The girl asked.

"First we need to properly introduce ourselves." Luna said completely ignoring the girl. "I am Luna, Luna Lovegood. This." She motioned towards Ginny who smiled at the girl. "Is Ginny Weasley and he is Harry Potter. Even though I guess you already know about us. Now your turn."

"Astoria." The girl spoke hesitantly. "Astoria Greengrass."

"Greengrass?" Ginny spoke. "Wait, we have a girl with that name in our class. Daphne Greengrass."

"Ooohh." Harry shuddered. "I just froze from thinking about her."

"Heyy." The girl glared. "My sister is really nice. Don't say things like that about her."

"Alright." Harry threw his hands up. "I'm sorry for every saying anything about your sister."

"Well, what did you want to talk about?" The girl demanded, staring straight at Luna.

Luna remained silent for a few second. "It's about your reaction towards us."

"My reaction?" The girl asked.

"You were scared when you first saw us." Luna explained. "You wanted to be as far away from us as possible. Even before, you were really nervous when I called out to you." Her voice was as serious as it had ever gotten. "Why?"

"Luna…." Ginny started but Luna held up a hand, signalling her to stop. Her eyes were fixed on the younger girl who was blinking at her incomprehensibly.

"You are Gryffindors." The girl said as if it explained all.

"Is that all?" Luna asked, her sharp gaze penetrating the stoic persona the girl had taken up, till she couldn't even look in the same direction.

"I mean you treat us like filth. Like we are criminals who have done horrible deeds. Like we are death eaters already." The girl started speaking rapidly, without a single stop for breath.

"Wait." Ginny interrupted. "We do?" she looked towards Harry who was looking as confused. "I mean yeah we are always at each other's throat. But that's nothing more than school rivalry."

"Yeah right." The girl scoffed. "My sister told me all about it and you. You are the one behind it all aren't you? Acting so innocent on the surface." She was snarling by the end.

"That's enough accusations for a day." Ginny said with a raised eyebrow. "We haven't antagonised any Slytherin." She said. "Except for Malfoy, but that's a personal grudge."

"Like I'll believe you." The girl said harshly.

"She is telling the truth." Luna said coming closer. "We aren't going to harm you, you know. Actually, if it's possible, I, We would like to be your friend."

"My friend?" Astoria faltered, her eyes glanced down at her feet.

"I know how pureblood families live." Luna kneeled down in front of the younger girl. "You don't make friends there, you make connections." She put a hand on Astoria's head. "But you aren't like that are you?"

Astoria looked up, startled, her eyes searching Luna's face.

"You have craved for a friend for so long," Luna continued speaking, her eyes holding the younger girl in a trance. "I can see it in your eyes you know. You have been lonely for such a long time."

"I-I have my sister." Her voice was weak as she answered.

"But she isn't enough to fill the void is she?" Luna said softly.

There was no answer forthcoming. Astoria just stood there, her eyes jumping from one person to the other. Even though Harry and Ginny couldn't understand what was going on, they still smiled encouragingly at the younger girl.

"Friend." Her voice was barely audible. "That would be nice."

"Great." Luna clapped her hands and squealed before proceeding to hug the younger girl tightly.

"Mmmph." Muffled sounds could be heard coming from the girl.

"Luna!" Ginny shook her head as she pried the older girl off the younger. "Don't hug her so tightly."

Luna gave a little pout but stood up.

"I have to go now." The girl said looking at them. "Maybe I'll see you later?" she added hopefully.

"Yeah sure." Harry smiled. "And about the backlash from your house. Don't worry we'll take care of it somehow."

"Bye." The girl said and exited from the door.

After the girl had left, Harry and Ginny turned towards Luna.

"What was all that about?" Ginny demanded.

Luna just shrugged her shoulder, her ethereal aura returning to her. "Who knows? Oh, we really should do our homework. It's getting late."

She turned towards where she had put her bag on the sofa and began rummaging through it. The room shimmered before the cosy sofa filled room turned into a room with a table and a fireplace.

Harry and Ginny just shared a look and sighed. If Luna wasn't willing to share it, there was just so much they could do to get it out of here.

They too took out their parchment and quill and started working on their homework. After all, what's the point of wasting your energy on something that's impossible.

Unbeknownst to them though, an ancient creature, long forgotten, had started casting his shadow over them


	18. Chapter 18

**A/N: And here I thought, I was uploading it faster this time. Where did these three weeks go? What's wrong with time these days? It passes too fast. Nonetheless, here comes the next chapter. Do enjoy and tell me if you enjoyed it.**

The demon hid in the lengthening shadows, watching as the gargoyles sprang apart and an aged man stepped through. He had come to get a look on the headmaster, presumably the strongest mage in the school, to see how much of a hindrance could he be to his plans. The security that the gargoyles provided was ancient and was a bit annoying to get rid of, but he managed to pass through. To be honest, he had expected a bit more from the guardian of the next magical force. The man was too preoccupied with the political happenings and plans for the future to pay much attention to the present.

When he was just about to leave, the aged man had come in. Curious, he had decided to stay for a bit and hear their conversation. It wasn't like the two men could see him hidden in the shadows. And it proved to be a good thing. He had overheard the whole thing. It didn't take long for the sharp mind of the demon to discern wat the old headmaster was trying to do.

After listening to the whole talk, he had come out, his mind bent on ways that he could use this to his advantage. He watched as the man left the corridor. It was just the beginning, and he had time, lots and lots of time to torture those who carried the blood of his captors.

Moving through the corridors, he entered through the fat lady portrait. It was quite late by now and the common room was empty san for a single chair by the fireplace. In it sat Luna, her feet tucked under as she sat reading a book.

As he made his way towards her, she looked up and smiled. "Hey Neville."

Inwardly the demon seethed, he wanted to rip her to shreds, the blood that pumped through her veins infuriated him, yet he wouldn't do so even if he had the power.

"Hello Luna." Outwardly, he appeared shy and bumbling just as this person should be that he had impersonated. A demon's magic was different from human. It was limitless and without restriction. All he needed to do was will it and it would happen. This limitless power allowed them to travel through the barriers between dimensions and gave them the ability to peak into what would have been. They were a kind of seer, though what they saw was not the future but the world as it should have been.

It was this ability that had allowed him to mingle so seamlessly with the students at Hogwarts. He had taken up the persona of a student that should have been attending Hogwarts, Neville Longbottom. His infinite magic allowed him to influence the mind of people within a certain area. As soon as they would leave this area, they would forget everything relating to him, like he never existed.

"What are you doing up?" Luna asked closing her book.

"I couldn't sleep." He spoke. He needed an excuse to prolong their conversation. He may be able to instil memories but to win trust, he had to work.

"Why?" Luna questioned.

"Snape's class would be soon and I still haven't completed the summer homework." He lied.

Luna smiled. "Do you need some help with it?"

He gave a relieved sigh. "That would be great Luna." The name burned his tongue but he managed to keep up the façade. "I'll go and get my things."

"I'll be waiting. Though we have to hurry, I have to sleep soon." Luna answered.

"Thanks, I appreciate the help." He answered smiling. He went up the stairs to the boys' dormitory under the pretence of getting books. All he had to do was pick someone else's book and come down. As he reached the dormitory, his eyes fell on another one of his prey, the boy sleeping peacefully in his bed. Inadvertently, he smiled as a brilliant idea came to his mind. Summoning the books he needed, he approached the bed silent as the night. For a moment, his tightly constrained power was released as a dark breath came out of his mouth and encircled the face of Harry Potter. Tonight, his dreams would be dark and of betrayal.

As he turned back and was about to leave the dormitory he heard a voice behind him calling out his name.

"Neville!" he turned and found Harry Potter sitting up blearily looking at him. "What are you doing?"

"Nothing, just some study to do." He replied, confused for a moment why the young boy was up so soon after he had given him a dose of his dark breath.

"Oh alright." Harry said laying down, the covers already over him. "Come back soon though, it's late."

For a few seconds, the demon stood there before turning around, labelling the incidence as just a coincidence he went down where he needed to advance his plan.

…..

"I had the weirdest sensation last night," Harry spoke up suddenly. He had been silent through the whole breakfast, prompting concerned glances from the girls. But they had remained silent, not bringing attention to the fact that he looked worried.

"What sensation?" Ginny asked immediately, keen on finding what had Harry so worried. Luna too leaned forward, her eyes brimming with curiosity.

"I was having a weird dream which I don't remember," Harry said, though a faint blush graced his cheeks. "When I felt this evil presence around me. It was there for just a second and when I woke up there was nothing."

"Evil like Voldemort?" Luna asked.

"I don't know, but I think if evil could be embodied it would be like that. It was bone chilling. I was so scared that I thought my heart would stop for a second." Harry shuddered even now just thinking about it he could feel shivers run down his spine.

"Whoa." Ginny exclaimed. "I don't know what to say to that. Maybe Voldemort has come back in some other form."

But Luna just shook her head. "I somehow don't think it was Voldemort."

"Well then there is only one other thing that come to my mind." Harry answered grimly.

"That there is an evil at least on par with Voldemort." Ginny finished, her lips drawn in a thin line.

"Maybe I was just imagining thing," Harry said hopefully, though it was clear to anyone that even he didn't put much stock in his words. They just didn't have that kind of luck.

"Well we'll deal with it when it comes, right now we have classes to attend," Luna spoke up.

"Fine," Harry said resignedly. "What do we have today?"

"Transfiguration, Arithmancy and DADA." Ginny cast a sidelong glance at her schedule. "Yup, that should be it."

"And here I thought I could relieve some stress in potion." Harry gave a mock sigh.

"Don't worry Snape would be scowling over us soon enough," Ginny smiled. "Let's go."

"Though I am not really looking forward to seeing Lupin again so soon." Harry replied.

"You _were _really rude to him on the train ride." Luna spoke up. "Though I suspect it was mostly the Nargles' doing."

"Don't I know it." Harry groaned.

"Better apologize to him soon." Ginny advised. "You have to take into account what he was going through at that time."

"I know." Harry nodded. "I have been thinking about it and I think that my attitude was a bit wrong. Though don't expect us on friendly terms. I still think what he did was wrong, abandoning me just like that."

"I guess that's a start," Ginny replied. "Now let's get going or you know how McGonagall gets when students are late."

"Yes let's go," Harry and Luna spoke in unison, shuddering at the thought of an angry McGonagall at hand.

Transfiguration was basically as it had been for the last two years. McGonagall came with even tougher assignment, but like always Harry and the girls did it easily, since they had already finished OWL level material in their training. And just like before, McGonagall was all praises for her favourite students.

Arithmancy was a new subject for the three students. To much of their consternation, the subject turned out to be dull and arduous, with no disrespect intended to the teacher, Septima Vector. She seemed to be someone who knew her subject, but the art of teaching eluded her. You just can't teach numbers and their properties in a flat monotonous tone.

After the Arithmancy class, the trio had a much needed lunch break. Once again they turned their feet towards the Great Hall for a hefty lunch. After stuffing themselves full of the delicious food cooked by the house elves, Harry, Ginny and Luna found themselves standing in front of their DADA class.

As the first class of the new year, it was an introductory lecture. But it was clear within the first fifteen minutes that Remus Lupin knew what he was doing. He handled the class admirably and kept the attention strictly riveted on himself. The general overview of the topics that he gave was interesting and full of interesting titbits. He kept the atmosphere light and cracked occasional jokes. Before they knew it, the bell was ringing to signify the end of the class.

"Alright class." Remus Lupin smiled. "That will be it for today. I want a one-foot essay on what you have learned so far and what do you expect to learn in this class submitted by the next week."

A collective groan could be heard in the class on the mention of homework. Seeing this the smile on Remus' face broadened. "Now, now it isn't as much work as you think. Just write whatever comes to your mind. You don't need to disturb Madame Pince for such a measly assignment. I promise it won't be graded."

The class nodded reluctantly. There isn't much you can do when a teacher had his mind made up.

"Also Mr. Potter, Miss Lovegood and Weasley." He looked towards the three who were packing their things. "I would appreciate it if you will stay behind for a few moments. I have something to discuss with you."

There was no buzz in the class at this announcement. During the last two years, they had come to understand these three were geniuses. Even in the exams, their marks dwarfed all the others. Teachers calling out to them was considered the norm, not the exception. What would be surprising was a class in which they hadn't earned a single point for their house.

Harry, Ginny, and Luna waited, patiently sitting in their seat as the class emptied. When the last student had left, only then did they approach the teachers' desk.

Remus Lupin saw them approaching. For a moment, a pang of irritation rose in his chest as he watched the two girls on Harry's side. But he immediately banished such thoughts from his minds. He couldn't even decipher where such thoughts had come from.

Standing on the doorstep, the demon smiled and left. His work here had been done. The seed had been planted, now all he needed to do was nurture it. If only the man wouldn't resist the wolf so strongly.

"Would you girls mind if I am alone with Mr. Potter for this conversation?" Remus questioned. "I would feel more comfortable that way. I called out to you three because I thought that would be much less inappropriate."

Ginny and Luna smiled and nodded. They whispered something in Harry's ears before turning and standing near the door.

Remus Lupin looked at them sighed. He would have preferred that they leave the room but this was probably the most privacy that he was going to get with Harry for now.

"First of all Mr. Potter, No Harry." Remus corrected himself while staring straight at him. "I have to apologize we got off on a very wrong foot during the train ride."

"No." Harry cut him off. "I should be the one who is apologizing, Professor. I said some very rude things to you without knowing the full situation. I am sure that time must have been hard on you too. I am very sorry for saying such things."

Remus arched an eyebrow and stared. He wasn't expecting such a mature Harry Potter, especially after the display at the train. You would expect that from a thirteen-year-old but not this. No, Remus corrected himself. The grudge and hatred that he saw in those eyes that day wouldn't be something that you would see in the eyes of a thirteen-year-old. Harry Potter was in no way an ordinary thirteen-year-old. Despite himself, Remus smiled. James and Lily certainly weren't ordinary, and he should have expected their only son to be beyond expectation too.

"Nonetheless, it doesn't excuse my attitude for the past thirteen years." Remus concluded. "No matter the tragedy not visiting you was a mistake that I shouldn't have made."

"No it doesn't." Harry agreed. "But what is gone, is gone. We can't change the past, though future is in our hand."

Now Remus could only stare speechless. Such words, in no way was he a thirteen-year-old.

"Are you really thirteen?" Remus couldn't help but blurt it out.

"That depends on your perspective." Harry smiled. "Now let's do our introduction once again."

….

Days flew as September passed. The winds turned chilly as October rolled around. And with October came the Quidditch season. Even though the matches were still a month or so away, the atmosphere had already started heating up in Hogwarts. Or maybe that was just the usual rivalry between Gryffindors and Slytherin.

The studies had been going magnificently for Harry and the girls. In addition to Arithmancy, they had elected Ancient Runes and Care of Magical Creatures, the latter because Hagrid was teaching it. Ancient Runes had been lot more fun than Arithmancy. Those strangely sketched lines were a lot of fun.

Remus Lupin had turned out to be an efficient teacher, quite comfortably they best they had till now. His relationship with Harry had turned much better since the day he first held a talk with him. On the other hand, the girls could feel his slightly frosty attitude towards them but they just shrugged it off, thinking of it as nothing more than the distance between a student and teacher. He had a past with Harry, not with them.

Quite on the contrary, this wasn't the reality. Even now, Remus had on his mind, the talk that he had with Dumbledore during the first week. While he had decided to judge them independently, the old man had enough influence over him that it was colouring his perception. And why won't he? After all he was the man he held in most esteem.

Remus Lupin stared up at the ceiling, the assignments he was grading forgotten on the desk as he rolled a quill in his hand. The dilemma that he found himself in wasn't an easy one. He snapped his head down, his hand reaching towards the first drawer on his desk. Opening it, he fished out three marked assignments from it and stared at them. Flawless. That was the only word in which he could describe them. Yet so distinct from each other. He had heard it about from the other teacher, still he was taken by surprise as to how good they were.

In the class, they didn't particularly stand out academically, unless it was practical work. They preferred to remain silent, not asking any question. Yet, they were the most distinguished group in the class, drawing gazes towards them every so often even if nothing had happened. How many times had he asked this question? Were they really only thirteen?

Yet, he wasn't sure how the group's dynamic worked. Were they tied by a common friend? Was there a leader and lackey sort of relationship? Or was it just a group of highly intellectual people who had come together. Maybe it was something other than intelligence that bound them? For a group that stood out so much, almost nothing was known to him.

It had been almost a month since he started teaching at Hogwarts. And during that month, he had kept a close eye on the group whenever he had a class with them. Except for the time when it was the full moon. Nothing seemed to suggest that the girls were taking Harry down the wrong path. Still, he couldn't shake a sinking feeling in his gut. A feeling that gnawed at his brain more and more as the time passed. He should get Harry away from the girls.

"Why?" his fist slammed into the table as he whispered this word. The table tremored under the onslaught and the assignments scattered everywhere.

For a few seconds, Remus stared at the flying papers as if they were alien objects. His mind was still stuck in his thoughts. Finally, he shook his head and got up from his chair. He gave a rueful smile before bending down and starting to collect the assignments that he had so heedlessly strewn.

His life had been a wreck just like these scattered assignments. He couldn't even count how many time he had to change his job just because of a simple disease he had never wanted. For a moment, a surge of anger swept through his whole body. Not before long though, all that was left was resignation and an acceptance that this was just the price he had to pay for the sins he didn't commit.

His mind returned to the latest complication in his life. What should he do about Harry? At one side was his instinct and Dumbledore's opinion. On the other, there was fear. Fear of doing the boy he once thought as his own another wrong. Harry looked close to the girls. If he attempted to break their friendship and it turned out, he was wrong?

He couldn't think about what would happen.

…..

Among the many events that had transpired in the first month of this new school year, of which more than a few were unknown to Harry, Ginny, and Luna, was their chance meeting with one Astoria Greengrass, a first year Slytherin.

After the initial reluctance had disappeared, she had proved to be a fun loving and jolly person. In the beginning, she rarely smiled, but now her lips wouldn't return to their default position, at least when she was with them. She had made a few friends in her year in Slytherin, but none of them felt as close as she was to the three Gryffindors.

She had made a habit of spending most of the weekend with them. At first, not many students knew where she was spending her time but like most of the secrets in Hogwarts, this one didn't remain one for long either.

The last month had been a series of good and bad events happening all around her. But now, as she sat in the room of requirement, all of it felt surreal. The room had taken the shape of a large golden coloured room. It was cluttered with sofas, chairs and tables. And in one corner, roared a huge fire which kept the room from getting too chilly.

There were certain advantages of having friends in the upper year. Harry, Ginny, and Luna were excellent teacher in addition to being brilliant students. They helped her in studying and cleared her doubts where she had any.

But there was a question that had been nagging her since she became a friend with lot. Till now she had been silent, afraid that it wasn't her place to ask such question. But now she couldn't take it anymore.

"Why do you practice such advanced magic?" she blurted out, before her courage failed her.

Harry, Ginny, and Luna, looked up from where they were doing their homework and stared at her collectively.

For a few seconds she met their gazes head on, not knowing what was happening. But in the end she just ducked her head, her face going deep shade of red, deeper than a tomato.

It was then that she heard laughter. Looking up she found Harry leaning back laughing while Luna and Ginny had giant grins on their face.

"Oh Merlin, you are always teasing me." Her cheeks swelled as she pouted.

"Can't help it, you get embarrassed too easily." Ginny quipped.

Such occasions were abundant among the company of these four. Constant teasing and jokes had been a way to relieve stress from studying this much.

"Well, we are a fair kingdom. Everyone bears their share of joke." Harry said getting up, his eyes were misty from laughing too hard.

"No." Astoria shook her head rapidly, her blonde tresses flying around. "I can swear you three prank me much more."

"It just feels that way because you are on the receiving end." Luna said smiling at the younger girl.

"Anyway." Astoria changed the topic. "You haven't answered my question."

"If you want to know the answer to that question, learn Occlumency." Ginny answered.

"Occlumency? But why? Is it that large of a secret?" Astoria asked leaning forward, her eyes were bright with anticipation and curiosity.

"Well you can say we don't want certain people in high position to know," Harry said. "And now that you are associated with us too, you better be careful too. Especially with your head of house. Frankly, he hates us."

"Professor Snape." Astoria frowned. "I don't like him either. He creeps me out."

Ginny gave a light chuckle. "Anyone would creep out after seeing that much grease."

"Oh no." Astoria said glancing at the clock. "I should get going it's getting late."

"Alright see you later, Tori." Luna spoke up.

"How many times do I have to tell you, don't call me Tori." Astoria huffed as she put her things in her back.

"See you later Tori." Ginny and Harry echoed Luna, a mischievous smile on their face.

"I am going to murder you three someday." Astoria mumbled as she exited through the door that appeared. As the door closed behind her, she heard three roars of laughter.

A small smile tugged at her lips too. No matter how much they teased her, they still were quite considerate friends.

The door had deposited her some distance away from the Slytherin common room. She started moving towards the door but was stopped by a sneering voice.

"Look who's here." She turned around and her eyes fell on Draco Malfoy, the most annoying git in Slytherin standing there with a few more annoyances from his year. "A blood traitor."

"Watch your tongue." Astoria had started to speak but a familiar voice had already answered for her. She watched as Malfoy became paler than usual. Such was the effect of the voice of her sister, Daphne Greengrass.

"Greengrass." This time Nott sneered at the elder Greengrass sister but any further comments were halted by one glance from Daphne.

"Since when did a dog learn to bark at its master?" Her word could cut through ice, such was the sharpness in her tone as she stared down Nott.

Nott gulped and took a step back. His feet stumbled and he fell down on his back. Scrambling, he got up and ran like his life depended on it.

"Pathetic." Daphne commented looking at the running back of Nott. "Perhaps I gave him too much credit, calling him a dog."

"Now listen here, Greengrass." This time it was Pansy Parkinson who opened her mouth.

"Silence you tramp," And Pansy shut her mouth right then and there. "And get that wretched body of yours away from me. I am having difficulty breathing."

Pansy too walked away from the scene rapidly. As she passed by her, Astoria could see tears brimming in the eye of the older girl. And why wouldn't she cry? No one came unscathed after an encounter with the ice queen.

All that were left now were Malfoy and his usual cronies. Daphne turned her attention towards them.

"Run." She said simply. The effect was instantaneous as Malfoy ran from the place as fast as his legs could carry him. Crabbe and Goyle stood at the place for a few seconds blinking rapidly. Before they too followed Malfoy.

Daphne sighed and shook her head. Sparing a glance at her sister, she started moving towards the common room entrance.

"Thanks sis," Astoria said to her sister grinning.

Daphne stopped and stared at her sister. Her expressions were still frozen, her eyes icy as she spoke.

"I told you to stay away from them. Don't expect me to come to your rescue every time."

With those simple words, Daphne Greengrass continued towards her destination.

Sorrow welled up in the heart of Astoria Greengrass as she saw her sister's retreating back. _The most Prized Possession of Greengrass Family._ Those were the exact words of her father while describing her sister.

An object, huh? Astoria wondered. That was the worth of her sister in the eyes of their parents. Countless time had she thought this, how could parents be so cold hearted?

Astoria shook her head. Now wasn't the time to be dwelling on such matters. Especially when it was all in futility. She couldn't do anything about it. Or maybe she could.

At the end of the tunnel she saw a small light. In that light stood three figure. Three people that she had come to know quite well in the last month.

…..

"Do you want to include her?" Ginny asked after Astoria had left the Room of Requirement.

"No." The answer was almost instant. Harry shook his head. "I don't want to drag her into the hellfire in which we have already jumped."

"Are you sure?" Ginny said. "It could be easier with more people."

"I don't care whether it would be easier or not." Harry got up and started pacing. "What we are trying to do is dangerous. Heck it is suicidal. I don't want her involved in any of this."

"She is going to be a target now; you know that right?" asked Luna.

Harry nodded. "We will train her, no doubt about that. She will learn everything that we know. But she won't be at the front of this fight. If I had any say in this, then she won't be involved in the fight at all."

"But all of that comes after we have told her everything and she still wants anything to do with us," Said Ginny grimly.

"Don't know whether that would be for good or worse." Harry shrugged his shoulder.

Ginny sighed. "Damn, that girl is sneaky."

"Anyway." Harry flopped down on the sofa opposite to the girls. "That rat is driving me barmy."

"He has got the luck of the devil." Ginny added. "How many times have we tried to catch him in the last month."

"Six times," answered Luna. "And we were always interrupted by someone."

"Ginny no offense, but your brother is really starting to irritate me." Harry said to Ginny.

"Oh please." Ginny rolled her eyes. "He has been irritating me since I was born."

"Never thought the Head dorm's corridor was so busy." Harry said exasperatedly. "I mean when we look there's never anyone using that passage."

"Hey Luna." Ginny said suddenly, her eyes were on her fingers. "Did you count right?"

"Uhuh." Luna nodded. "Six times."

"Three times by Percy, once by twins and once by McGonagall." Ginny counted. "Who interrupted us the sixth time?"

"Why? You want to curse them?" Harry joked but was silenced by a scalding glare from Ginny.

Luna remained silent for a few minutes before her lips parted. "I don't remember."

"Huh," Harry said. "Now that's interesting."

"Ugh, I give up." Ginny threw her hands up and leaned back. "Doesn't matter. Whoever it was we got interrupted."

"Must have been Snape." Harry said suddenly."

"What?" Ginny asked. "Why?"

"You know what they say about suppressing traumatic experiences." Harry said. "We must have been traumatised by seeing Snape in an ungainly fashion and suppressed the memories."

"Harry!" Ginny shrieked. "I don't even want to think about what you mean by ungainly fashion."

A roar of laughter rose in her answer as Harry fell back.

"I think we should wrap up too." Luna glanced at the clock. "It's curfew time."

"Let's go." Harry wiped off the tears streaming down his face and stood up.

Ginny sat glaring at Harry for a few seconds before she too stood up. "Fine let's go."

When they exited the door, opening a few corridors away from the Gryffindor tower, they noticed Daphne Greengrass walking quite furiously. Noticing them, she halted and stood there.

"Is she waiting for us?" Ginny whispered.

"Looks like we are finally going to get frozen. Ouch." Harry rubbed his side while glaring at Ginny who had elbowed him in the side.

"Let's see what she wants?" Luna said and started walking towards Daphne.

As soon as they were within hearing distance, Daphne moved and was in their face before they could even blink.

"Now listen here." Her voice had a cutting edge to it, her eyes were cold as ice. "Who said you could get so chummy with my sister. Know your place you freaks or I'll show it to you the hard way."

"No, You listen here." Ginny's eyebrow was twitching. "Who told _you _that you can tell _us _what to do? Why don't you take this arrogant attitude of yours and get the hell out of here? Your house might be afraid of you, but if you _ever _talked to me in that tone again I'll curse you into oblivion."

For a moment Daphne was taken aback. She controlled herself. "I have warned you people. Stay away from Astoria, or else."

"Else what?" Ginny stepped closer to Daphne, bringing herself nose to nose with the girl. Her eyes were ablaze with fury as she stared down the ice queen, the atmosphere heavy with magic.

"Ginny that's enough." Luna who had been silent till now stepped ahead and placed a hand on Ginny's shoulder. "Calm down."

Ginny breathed and instantly the magic disappeared. Almost instinctively, Daphne took a step back. Her whole body shivered for a second, though it went unnoticed by the trio.

Ginny turned her back on the blonde, her voice was scornful when she spoke again. "Astoria has a right to decide who will be her friend. Don't try to manipulate her life like that."

"How could you understand." Those were the last words out of the mouth of Daphne Greengrass. Briskly, she turned and started walking back.

"Oh, we do understand." Harry muttered. "But those are least of her worries."

The demon watched the happening from a distance. He had taken a habit of stalking his prey, at least till he had gained enough confidence to sit in their midst. He smiled despite himself. The hunter and the prey sitting together, and the prey oblivious that it was going to be hunted. Only thing that would be better would be if the prey knew he was being hunted.

Patience. The demon told himself. Patience, or else he won't be satisfied.

As his Harry, Ginny, and Luna started to move, the demon decided to materialize himself. Taking the all too familiar form by now, he came out of the shadows.

"Harry, Ginny, Luna!" The trio turned to find Neville running towards them, seemingly quite out of breath."

"Whoa Neville mate, you alright?" Harry asked looking down at the bent Neville who was gasping for breath.

"Y-yeah." Neville answered, taking huge gulps of air. "Just ran as fast as I could."

"But why?" Luna asked, worry was evident in her voice as she moved ahead and began rubbing his back.

Neville remained silent, preferring to take a few breaths before he spoke again. "I am fine now. Thanks Luna." He straightened his back and smile at Luna.

A faint blush could be seen on Luna's face.

"Anyway, why were you running like that?" Harry asked.

"I wanted to catch up with you." Neville answered. "I saw you conversing with Daphne Greengrass. I thought you might need my help."

"Oh please Neville give us some credit." Ginny spoke. "Like she could do anything to us." Her anger at Daphne still hadn't faded a least bit.

"Still that was sweet of you Neville." Luna answered.

"Uh T-thanks." Neville stammered, his cheeks could be seen going redder by the second. Even Luna's cheeks were pink.

Harry could feel a stare burning his side. The side where Ginny was standing. He kept his face as straight as he could. Merlin knows what he had done wrong this time. But he wasn't in any hurry to be on the receiving end of Ginny's wand.

"Alight, let's get inside the tower before McGonagall catches us." Harry said, hurriedly turning towards where the common room was.

"Let's go." Ginny answered and started moving. Neville and Luna followed after her, walking side by side.

As they climbed inside the common room, Harry noticed a white owl sitting on a chair by fireplace.

"Hedwig," Harry cried. His owl had been gone for a few days. Not that he was concerned much. Hedwig knew how to take care of herself. Though, he had missed the company of his intelligent owl.

Hedwig gave a low hoot and flew towards her master. It was then that Harry noticed a parchment tied to Hedwig's leg.

"So you were getting a letter for me?" Harry asked softly petting the owl's head. "How was the trip?"

"Here." Ginny spoke from side. In her hand, she held a few owl treats. Immediately, Hedwig took flight and landed on Ginny's hand.

"Hey." Harry spoke indignantly. "Not fair. That's my owl."

Ginny just blew a raspberry before turning her attention towards the owl. Carefully she took off the letter and handed it to Harry, who scowled and took the letter.

Opening it Harry scanned the letter.

"Who is it from?" Ginny asked absentmindedly as she pet Hedwig.

"Sirius." Harry answered in a low tone folding the parchment once again. "He says he would be here in about two weeks."

"Perfect." Luna clapped her hand. "We are getting our first Hogsmeade visit about then."

Yes, Perfect. The demon smiled. Perfect to carry out a little experiment.

…..


	19. Chapter 19

**A/N: So we have reached Chapter 19 huh? Sounds pretty far doesn't it. How long has it been since I have been posting this story. Around an year and three months. Actually it has been exactly that. Well for you who are still hanging around this story it looks like you won't have to bear with it for long. This month this story would be complete. Yup, we have come a long way haven't we? Two or three more chapters. That's all that is left. I hope you enjoy those chapters and this one as much as you have enjoyed my story if not more.**

Oliver has gone mad. That was the general consensus among the Gryffindor Quidditch Team. That's what you call a man who makes you train for three times a week and for four hours straight on the weekends. The match was still weeks away and Oliver was going crazy. With the bludger dodging practice for the seeker and an obstacle course for the chasers and heavier beater bats and bludger for beaters. Harry doubted the man could last long. He had already received three detentions for drawing Quidditch strategies in the class. Now, Fred and George were afraid that Oliver will break their self-proclaimed record of fastest ten detentions. Though you had to cut him some slack. It was his last year at Hogwarts and Oliver was determined to defend the title for the second time.

Despite all the grumbling and complaints in front of Oliver, the team was in the best shape of their career. And nearly surely, the team wasn't going to change this year. Maximum two reserves were allowed, so they already had hit the maximum number of people that they can recruit. So there was a low chance of a new player being recruited in the coming trials, barring some serious injury or an outstanding performance by a hopeful.

Quidditch wasn't the only thing that they were enjoying though. Every single class that they had taken with Hagrid for Care of Magical Creatures was absolute fun. Though, most of the class won't agree with the three. As it was Hagrid's definition of fun and normal people's definition of dangerous overlapped generously.

Once again, the three friends found themselves walking the familiar route to Hagrid's hut. This time though, the whole class was following them. Hagrid had promised something really fun for this class. The sun was shining brightly today. A warm day, considering that it was October. Perfect day for a class outside.

"C'mon you all, it's time for class." Hagrid was already standing outside his hut and excitedly waving his big hand.

Hearing the loud voice of Hagrid, they quickened their pace. In no time at all, they were standing in front of the wooden home.

"Alright," Hagrid's voice boomed in the clearing. "Time for a roll call class."

"So class." Hagrid put away the attendance register after the roll call and spoke, "Are you ready for today's lesson?"

There was a collective murmur in the class which Hagrid took as an approval to move.

"Today we'll be going in the Forbidden Forest."

The murmurs increased in volume.

"Now, Now no need to be so excited." Hagrid spoke. "We will remain on the fringe of the Forbidden Forest so that you don't encounter something that can harm you. Not that anyone will harm you as long as I am with you. Well then let's start the class."

This time Hagrid was teaching them about a hybrid creature, half horse, half eagle; a hippogriff. Apparently they were quite proud and didn't take too well to be insulted.

As the star students and Hagrid's students, they were called first to bow before the majestic creature. As expected they didn't have any problem.

It was later that trouble arose. In his arrogance, Malfoy sauntered over to the Hippogriff and sneered at him. Needless to say, the creature wasn't impressed and raised his hoofs.

The look on Malfoy's face was priceless and it would have etched on his face forever if not for Luna's timely intervention. She discreetly flipped her wand, sending Malfoy flying back. Hagrid took it over from there, calming down the creature. Malfoy had fallen unconscious.

Harry, Ginny and Luna volunteered to take Malfoy back since Hagrid had dispersed the class following that event.

When they were suitably away from others, Harry and girls threw Malfoy down on the ground, waking him up in an extremely unpleasant way.

"Potter." Malfoy groaned. "What do you want with me?"

"Listen here Malfoy." Harry growled. "Never ever try to disrupt Hagrid's class again or else."

"Else what?" Malfoy sneered. "Like I'll listen to someone as pathetic as you."

"Oh you will." Ginny jabbed her wand at his throat, her face completely serious. "Or we will throw in the forbidden forest. And you know how scary that place is."

"You wouldn't." Malfoy scoffed.

"Try your luck." Harry smirked. "Let's go."

….

Harry ran as fast as he could. His chest heaved with every breath that he took. There wasn't enough strength left in his grip to hold his wand properly. Sweat rolled down his body in his rivulets. A break. Yes, he needed a break.

He stopped, taking cover behind a ruined building. Not having enough strength to stand, he fell to his knees, his breath coming in short gasps. With every breath his lung burned, but he swallowed it greedily.

Finally, when he had calmed down he looked around. As far as his eyes could see, destroyed buildings littered the ground. More than a few were still emitting smoke. A perfect replica of Apocalypse, that's what it looked like there.

A flash of magic in his mind and Harry cursed. He ducked as fast as he could, as the nasty coloured curses flew over him and struck the building. Debris flew everywhere as the building trembled and a few shrapnel flew towards him at lightning speed. Try as he might, Harry couldn't move away in time and like a hot dagger piercing butter, they dug into his shoulder. With a strangled cry he fell. But not for long. In the next second, his wand moved and the masked man who had thrown the earlier curses smacked into a building with a crunching sound. The building groaned, and in the next moment the man was buried in a pile of rubble.

Luna looked above her shoulder and into the darkened alleyway. Thick clouds of fog obscured her vision, but she could sense two aura shrouded in there. Delicately, she raised her wand. The right time, she had to wait for it, or else it would get much harder to deal with just two. To spend so much energy at just the beginning would be unthinkable.

Her wand trained, she waited. Her sharp eyes watching every single move. The men would move every few seconds. Just like they were guarding something.

One. Luna inhaled slowly, her wand going taut.

Two. She exhaled and entered the stance.

A rumble sounded behind her. The figures turned sharply and their hands moved. Next moment, she could clearly see a blue curved shield protecting the men.

"Shit." Luna cursed under her breath, as the men rapidly converged on her position. Backtracking, she rounded the building and went to the other corner. Immediately, she dropped down to one knee, her wand right in front of her eye.

The steps were fast yet guarded. With every sound she heard, her heartbeat rose. Gradually, it was becoming difficult for her to breathe.

Calm down. She told herself. Yet, her muscles remained tensed, her eyes focused sharply on the corner. The steps were close now. Any moment they would round the corner. She crouched even lower in anticipation.

Suddenly the steps stopped. Luna raised her head a bit. Her head filled with myriad of thoughts. In the silence she could hear her own heart beating. The sound was ominous and tensed her muscles further. Not good, she bit her lip. Anymore, and she was going to panic.

One blink. And the men were in front of her and a horrendous curse flying towards her just feet away. The jump was more out of desperation than a controlled move, but she had chosen the right direction. In the next instance she was right below the two men.

The men looked down, their masked faces staring at Luna. She could see their leg muscles ripple as they prepare to jump backwards.

"Reducto." Barely the spell escaped Luna's lips. The curse caught the men right in their chest and they were reduced to indistinguishable mass of blood and meat.

She got up, letting out a slow breath. And that's when the pain registered. She wasn't able to evade the curse completely. She touched the side of her cheek and her hand came away bloodied. The curse had opened a large gash on her cheek. Her wand moved and the wound closed, albeit horribly. At least the building stopped, that will have to do for now. Luna thought as she moved forward.

Ginny looked around and bit her lip. She was surrounded from every side. No feasible escape route could be seen and her opponents outnumbered her ten to one. Fighting them at the same time was never on the cards.

Her shield trembled as a powerful curse slammed into it. She turned her attention back to her shield and fed more magic into it. Soon though, she will have to move or the shield would drain all of her magic.

Once again, her eyes darted around the place, but the result was the same. In a cramped space such as this, deceiving the ten people around her looked unlikely. Cracks had appeared in her shield, and with every spell that it took, the fissures opened wider.

The things that she could do in this situation were limited. She seethed internally for having her hand forced so early. Her eyes closed and the grip on her wand slackened, yet the shield glowed brighter and the cracks started healing. Half of her mind was bent on bolstering her shield, calming and soothing the flow of magic. The other half focused on relaxing her strained muscles and frazzled nerves. Her shoulders slouched and her left hand raised. For a split second her shield flickered. In that instant, her left wrist jerked back finger raised and then flicked forward. The motion was so fast that it was almost impossible to see with the naked eye.

_Whoosh. _The sound of a high paced projectile could be heard for a moment, and the next blood splashed everywhere, till a thick coating of red remained.

Now. Ginny thought, ducking low. The unexpected attack had drawn the attention of everyone, leaving her unengaged for a few moments. She knew her respite was brief. Like a gazelle, she jumped and cleared the circle of dead from the opening she had created. Three. That's how many she had killed with a single attack.

A sharp pain stabbed through her body. Unintentionally, she clutched her chest, stopping and bending forward for a moment. Two movement, terribly taxing on her stamina and magic had left her gasping for her breath.

Not for long though. She didn't have the luxury to sit there and catch her breath. The men had recovered from the shock of an unexpected attack. She got up and started running on unsteady feet.

Buildings rushed past her, her breath ragged. But ran she did. There wasn't an option. Taking on seven of them together was unthinkable. But no matter how fast she was, the sound of bounding feet grew ever closer.

What could she do now. She thought running. Just then her eyes spied a building on its last legs. Ready to crumble, all it needed was one final push.

An idea flashed in her mind. Gripping her wand tightly, she focused on the building. As her first step passed the boundary in front of the building, her wand moved making a blue arc in the air. The arc surged forward and passed through the building. The building leaned forward and by the time she had completely crossed it, the building was tumbling behind her.

A few steps further she stopped and looked back. None of her pursuers could be seen amidst the rubble. Well, time to go. She thought and started jogging once again.

Harry peeked through the side of the building at the man standing in the midst of the crossroad. He was the last hurdle in their mission before they successfully complete it. Just then, he spied Luna crouching behind the man among large boulders. She looked at him and flicked her eyes to the side. Following her gaze, he found Ginny looking through the window of the destroyed building. They were all here. It was time to attack.

He aimed his wand at the black robed guy and flicked it upward. A blue orb sped toward his enemy. Just before the orb made contact, Harry felt a huge magical wave wash over him and a twenty feet shield surrounded the guy. The blue orb instead of impacting the man was absorbed in the shield.

What was that? Harry involuntarily took a step back. As he tried to shake off his fear, he saw Luna stood up and fire a bludgeoning hex at the man. The hex collided with the shield with the force of an avalanche and for a moment Harry thought the shield would be broken but in the end the spell ricocheted off and hit the top of a smoking building, destroying its upper half.

The attempt by Luna was followed by a grey light coming from Ginny's side. Once again, it was blocked by the giant shield. Harry gritted his teeth and his magic flared. One more time, he trained his wand at the black robed person and fired a powerful curse. Yet again, the bright neon light was blocked by the shield.

What followed was a barrage of curses, hexes, and jinxes. A multi-hued display that would have put fireworks to shame if the air wasn't so thick with magic and bloodlust. Each time, the spell would strike it, the shield would reverberate like metal clanking against metal. Not a single crack could be seen on the whole span of it.

Amidst all this, Harry saw some movement from inside the shield. Till now, the man had stayed motionless, not moving an inch from the position he had seen him at the first time. But now his hands moved and he took a stance. One of his hand moving above his head and the other bending at his side. In each hand a wooden stick appeared.

A much larger surge of magic passed through Harry and the shield glowed brighter. Somehow, it had grown even thicker. His eyes bugged out as he saw the man. That shield was wandless.

He felt the nefarious magic flare up once again. Almost instinctively, he threw up a shield. A good thing too, for the next moment an invisible force slammed into his shield with such ferocity that he was dragged backwards a few steps. His shield held on though it was filled with large cracks. Harry doubted that it could take even a simple spell.

The magic burst once again. Hurriedly he renewed his shield and just in the nick of time as once again a powerful force collided against his shield. This time though, his shield splintered and he was thrown off his feet, landing on his injured shoulder.

Harry let out a hiss at the sharp spike of pain in his shoulder. Groaning, he sat up and looked towards their enemy. The man had turned his attention towards Luna, casting spells after spells at her weakening shield.

His own protection though remained intact. Had he reverted to wandless magic? Harry wondered and then he remained the two wands that had come into his hand when he took a stance. He let out another groan. The man was a dual wielder.

He turned his attention back to Luna, his wand ready to cast a powerful spell lest the time comes. After every few spell Luna would renew her shield but he knew it wouldn't last long. In a match of endurance, they couldn't possibly be a match of him.

He saw the man prepping for a large attack. He moved his attacking hand backward as his magic rose. Luna's shield won't be able to handle this attack.

Just as the man jabbed his wand forward, Harry flicked his wand reinforcing Luna's shield. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Ginny doing the same thing.

With the force of a bull, the man's spell rammed into the reinforced shield. It was like someone had hit a huge gong. The waves rolling off of the collision made him feel queasy. The shield held on but barely. There were no cracks so to speak but he knew; just a little push and the shield would be obliterated.

He saw the man turn, turning his attention towards Ginny. Before he could do anything the building was blasted into nothingness. Thankfully, Ginny had seen the curse coming and had dived out of the building. She was on the ground floor, so she didn't sustain any serious injuries except for a few cut and bruises due to landing on rocks.

But that wasn't the end of her trouble. The building right behind her had been completely obliterated. And its rubble of three floors was now coming down rapidly. Just then the man flicked his wand and rocky walls sprouted from the ground trapping her in a stone prison.

Harry cursed, he knew she wasn't ready yet. The sudden jump had thrown her off balance and she needed a few moments to regain her bearing. Luna had exhausted herself while blocking her spells. So it was up to him to save her.

He rolled his wand conjuring a solid shield right above the stone prison. The debris fell on the shield. Stone after stone weighing more than a ton slammed into the solid shield and rolled off.

The robed man didn't remain idle either. His wand jabbed upward as soon as the shield snapped in place. A loud squelch followed by an even louder shriek. One of the side exploded and Ginny came out limping. To his horror, her whole left leg was covered in blood. It didn't take a genius to figure out what had happened inside.

Desperately, he started throwing spells at the shield, hoping to distract the man. Ginny needed a respite to compose herself.

The plan worked as the shield trembled under the twin assault from Luna and Harry. The man turned towards them. Once again there was a spike in magic and the force crashed into their hastily erected shield before splintering it completely. No harm came to them.

Another spell struck the giant shield of the robed person. This time it came from Ginny's side. He looked there to see Ginny with her wand pointed in the direction of the man. From the look on her face she was furious. Her eyes met his and she nodded. He sent a questioning glance but she stared back as another spell struck her shield.

He looked towards Luna and she too nodded. He watched as she closed her eyes and maximised her magical output. She needed it too if she was going to protect all three of them. At the age of thirteen she had quite impressive reserves bolstered by their hard training. When he thought she was ready, he dropped his shield. Immediately another shield sprang in its place.

He pushed air out of his lung as he sought to calm his frenzied magic. Slowly the blood pounding in his ear disappeared as he controlled his magic. A little spike here and there as he shaped it to his own will. Now he turned his attention towards Ginny's magic.

Slowly he raised his wand. He could feel Ginny altering her magic. He too concentrated to match his magic to hers.

He felt his wand thrum as their magic became closer. It was hard to reshape your magic in such a way. The vibrations increased as wavelength matched. The magic fought against him but he held on.

As their magic became identical, he felt it explode inside him. Their spell was ready.

He snapped his eyes open and with ferocity brought his wand down. From the sky a white orb came rocketed down and banged into the shield. The shield bent back visibly but didn't break. The spells hitting their shield did weaken as his focus shifted to balance his shield.

Just how strong was he? Harry wondered. From now it was a battle of wills. Them against him. A battle that didn't last long. The orb kept pushing against the shield. Slowly but steadily the shield kept bending and finally it broke. Victory was theirs.

But the robed man didn't give up. He brought both of his wands against the rapid orb. A huge shockwave rolled off as the orb stopped.

Though he had made a grave error. His attention had diverted from the third person. Harry saw the shield in front of him drop and a grey arc sped towards the man. In a few seconds, the man was cut in half and the orb fell on his remain, causing a huge explosion.

The scenery around them faded as Harry fell to his knee utterly exhausted by the simulation.

"Wow, that was awesome." He looked up to see Astoria standing with an awed look on her face. She extended her hand and helped him to a sofa.

"Not so much for us." Ginny grumbled. "I got impaled on my foot. That's not a pleasing sensation." A glass of juice appeared on his side and he gratefully gulped it down.

After helping him up, Astoria moved towards Ginny, and Luna and also helped them onto couches.

"I didn't think Death eaters were this strong." Astoria too sat down beside them.

"They aren't." Luna said. "This training is designed to push us to our limits, so they keep on getting stronger with us."

"Wow." The look of awe was still on her face. "You three looked so cool when you were there."

"That aside. What were you doing watching us? I don't remember you being here when we started. Where were you watching us from anyway?" Harry queried.

"Well, when I entered the room, it had transformed into a room with a large screen in front. I could see you three on it."

"This room is a hassle sometimes." Harry muttered to himself.

"By the way, what was with that orb in the end. And why was the last enemy wielding two wands?"

"You are pretty curious today." Ginny smiled tiredly.

"A dual wielder." Harry answered. "They are capable of wielding two wands at the same time. Not only they are extremely rare but they are seriously strong too. They naturally possess a sharp focus and are able to cast lethal spells simultaneously. Not to mention, their magical reserves are on the higher end of spectrum, making them a pain in the ass to deal with.

"Talk about knowledgeable." Astoria said. "I didn't know you three were this strong. Taking on someone that strong."

Harry let out a chuckle. "We told you, the room scales the power with respect to our current strength."

"So you are telling me, that wasn't the full strength of a dual wielder?"

"No way." Ginny waved her hands. "I doubt that was even a fraction of an average dual wielder's strength. I don't think the three of us can go toe to toe with any one of the known death eaters yet. A dual wielder would probably be on the same level as Dumbledore or Voldemort and that too without any kind of training."

"And that orb? That was some explosion."

"It was a fusion of Ginny and mine's magic."

"A fusion?"

"Uhuh. Usually a person has a distinct magical signature. You can say the magic each person possess is different from the other. Generally, it is rigid and cannot be altered but if you have enough mastery then you subtly alter it. It is exceptionally difficult and you can only alter it to match the magic you know intimately. But once you do, you have access to a spell which defies the rule that sum is equal to its parts."

"What do you mean?"

"For example, if Ginny gives one unit of her magic and I give one unit of mine, then the spell will contain 2 units right?"

"Yes."

"Well once you match your magic and focus it at a single point than the sum is actually twenty. The spell is ten time stronger than normal."

"But how?"

"We don't know." Luna shrugged her shoulders.

"I want to learn all of this too." Astoria spoke excitedly.

"First try to learn the basics of Occlumency. You are horrible at it." Harry sighed. "And here I thought Greengrass' sister would be a little bit more smart."

"Harry don't be mean to Tori." Luna chided. "I have heard she's actually in the top tier of her class. It has been only two months though, but if I have to hazard a guess then she is in the top ten of her year."

"She certainly doesn't look like it."

"It's not me who is stupid." Astoria pouted. "You three are too brilliant."

"Brilliant?" Ginny raised an eyebrow. "We just work hard and help each other."

"I guess that's how we appear to outsiders huh?" Luna smiled.

"I don't know. Her sister's pretty brilliant."

"That's what you say." Astoria spoke up. "She's always irked that you three are getting more marks than her."

"By the way what are Ravenclaws upto? I thought they were supposed to be smart one."

"Don't you know?" Luna turned towards Harry. "After us four, The Ravenclaws take all the position."

"You mean from the fifth?"

"Yes, yes, from the fifth."

"Doesn't sound that impressive."

"Whoa Harry, didn't know you had an arrogant side like that." Ginny smirked.

"Who is arrogant? I am just stating a fact."

"I must get going?" Astoria stood up and stretched. "Watching you do all those spells made me tired."

"Do practice tonight, Tori." Ginny cried out as Astoria reached the door.

"I will, Goodnight."

"Well then, shall we get going too?" Luna asked.

"Why not?" Harry got up with a smirk. "But first let's do this level again."

….

"Where is this blasted cave that he was going to meet us in?" Harry wondered as they stood on the outskirts of Hogsmeade. His eyes roamed the rocky out hills trying to detect which would show that Sirius was there.

"Don't know." Luna shrugged. "He just said to come to the outskirts of the town and he will meet us there in a cave."

"What's that walking." Ginny squinted, shielding her eyes against the sun with one hand. "I think that's a black dog."

Harry and Luna turned towards where Ginny was looking. Just as she had described an above average dog was running towards them.

"That must be him." Harry muttered under his breath.

The dog stopped at bit of a distance. He barked at them and then started running back.

"Let's go." Harry said and they started jogging after him. It wasn't a long trek and soon they were entering a cave.

Sirius transformed and turned towards them. "Hello Harry."

"Finally you are here, Sirius." Harry spoke up. "You were supposed to be here at the beginning of the semester."

"It's a long way from London to Scotland and this was my first time travelling as a dog." He turned his attention towards the girls standing behind Harry. "You must be Ginny and Luna."

Ginny and Luna nodded and sat down opposite from Sirius.

"Here." Harry said dropping a bag in front of Sirius. "Some food for you."

"Thanks." Sirius grabbed the bag and started rummaging through the bag. "Never quite got over the delicious food in Hogwarts."

The next few minutes were spent silently, while Sirius enjoyed the food enthusiastically. Chicken disappeared as fast as it came out of the bag, whole loafs of bread were eaten in no time. For a minute Harry was concerned that the food that the elves had packed would for what looked like five people wouldn't be able to fill one man.

"Eat a bit more slowly, the food is not going anywhere." Harry sighed as a large piece of bread hit him in the face.

"Sowry." Sirius spoke with his mouth full before he gulped it down with water. "I have learned not to trust anything. For all I know this chicken could run away any moment." He grinned and shoved the aforementioned chicken leg in his mouth.

"That's still disgusting." Ginny muttered under her breath.

Sirius ears perked up. "You are Ginny Weasley right? Harry had told me a lot about. He always kept on going about how pretty you were."

"Sirius!"

"He always says how shiny your hair are, how pretty are your eyes and the freckles are really cute."

"Sirius!"

"What?" Sirius batted his eyes innocently while taking a big gulp of butterbeer.

Harry gave a sidelong glance to Ginny whose face was beet red. "Stop saying such thing."

"But I am telling the truth."

"Let's talk about the rat." Harry changed the topic. "We still aren't able to capture him. Though looking at the marauder's map we do have proof that he is Peter Pettigrew."

"So you believe me?" at their nod he heaved a sigh. "Wait, you have the marauder's map?"

Harry nodded.

"Our map?"

"Yup?"

"The one that shows every single person in Hogwarts?"

"That one?"

"The one who insults other when given the wrong password."

"Absolutely."

"The one that has the name of us four written on it."

"The one and only."

"What in the name of Merlin's underwear? How did you come into its possession?" Sirius' eyes were wide as saucers, his face flushed with excitement as he asked the question.

"Well it's a long story." Harry smiled.

"I have got all the time in the world."

…

The demon looked down from the hill. Behind him was his latest army. A herd of the darkest creatures in the world. All gathered from around a school. The sheer absurdity of it would have made him laugh if he was capable of such thing.

The demon looked back and nodded. Today was the first step of his revenge. The torture of his captors would start now. More than two dozen dementors passed him by and descended into the valley below.

Revenge was a dish best served cold. But it would taste even more delicious with the side helping of carnage.

The demon turned as the dementors entered in the village of Hogsmeade. He needed the best seat enjoy the show. And they are found nearest the excitement.

…..

"But wasn't Harry's grandmother a Black too?" Luna asked. "Then why didn't you know James from before?"

"My Grandmother was a black?" Harry exclaimed.

Sirius nodded. "Yup, but like I said Potter and the Blacks weren't really on the same side of the spectrum. The potters weren't that much politically active but they did oppose the Blood supremacist view that the Black family held."

"So how did the marriage occur?"

"I don't know much about that." Sirius shook his head. "But I have heard that it involved James' Grandfather. He somehow managed to convince the Blacks to go ahead with the family."

"Hm, that sounds nice." Ginny commented. "Isn't it getting chilly."

"Now that you mention it, temperature is dropping." Harry rubbed his arms. "What's wrong?"

"I don't like this." Luna stood up and walked outside.

"Luna?" Harry questioned watching her back, he shared a glance with Ginny. "What is it?" he walked out and questioned.

He halted in his step when he saw the scene just a few hundred yards away.

A white mist hung over the Hogsmeade. Thick dark clouds hid the sun as if a cloak of despair hung over the town. And that's what they felt. Despair.

"Dementors."

"Get Sirius out of here. The dementors must have sensed him." Luna said.

"Shit." Harry swore. "I knew it was a bad idea, him coming to Hogsmeade."

"We can talk about that later. Get him out of here."

"What's going on guys?" it was Ginny who had come out of the cave. "Why are you standing outside like this.

But Harry just ignored him and went inside. Ginny gave him a glance before she turned her attention towards where Luna was looking.

"It can't be." the horror was evident on her face. "I thought they were under ministry's control."

"Apparently not." Luna shook her head. "They should have expected something like this, bringing those foul creatures in such close vicinity to a town."

From where the cave was, the girls had a perfectly good view of the Hogsmeade town. Shrouded in mist, they couldn't see what was going on, but they could hear faint shrieks coming from the town.

Inside, Harry had immediately grabbed Sirius' arm forcing him up.

"Whats wrong Harry?" Sirius asked bewildered.

"It's the dementors." Harry spoke urgently. "You must run or they will find you."

Hearing about the dementors, Sirius paled. He nodded and immediately transformed into his animagus form.

After Sirius transformed, Harry ran outside. As soon as he stepped outside he halted.

"It might be a tad bit too late." Ginny commented.

Just a few metres in front of them approached a horde of dementors. With every seconds that passed, a chill gripped their hearts even strongly.

Harry shook his head. "Not yet, we still have time." He looked towards Sirius and nodded.

They started backing away from the cave in the opposite direction. The dementors were converging fast on their position.

"We really should have learned the Patronus charm." Harry grumbled.

"The only option we have now is to run as fast as we can." Ginny answered.

"Not really. There are dementors behind us too." Luna said, her back was towards them.

"Think we can make an opening?" Harry asked.

"Knowing as how we don't know a single spell that could stop the dementors, I find it highly unlikely." Luna answered.

"But they are solid aren't they?"

"Well yes, they need to be solid to be able to touch us."

"Not a half bad idea, considering we don't have anything else." Ginny commented.

"Sirius, you run while we distract them." Harry said getting his wand ready.

Sirius growled at them.

"Of course we'll follow, but their primary goal is you. You must get away."

Sirius barked once more and started running away from them. A few dementors broke away from the herd and went after him.

"Oh no, not so fast." Harry whispered and jerked his wand upwards. Immediately the Earth split and large rocks emerged blocking their way.

The dementors turned their attention towards them. As they glided ever closer to them, their mind became plagued by their darkest fears. Memories that would have rather stayed buried and they had a lot of them.

Desperately, Ginny flicked her wand at them. The rocks scattered all around them rose up and flew towards the dementors at high speed. But when they impacted, it was like they had collided with rubber.

The dementors hardly slowed down. With every moment, their circle grew closer and it became difficult for them to even lift their wands.

As they drifted between darkness and consciousness, an amazing thing happened. Their bracelets started glowing and a shockwave repelled the dementors. With eyes barely open, they saw a blue dome snapped around them. The last thing they saw was someone shouting and bright lights running towards them.

And then darkness engulfed them.


	20. Chapter 20

"Seventeen people, Amelia. Seventeen people kissed and you are telling me that ministry isn't planning to remove those foul creatures?"

"Minister's order Minerva. He insists to keep the dementors on. He says that it must be because Black was there."

"Fudge has gone berserk. It's a miracle that none of the students were harmed."

"I am sorry Minerva but I don't have the authority to override the minister even in such a case."

Two arguing voices. That's what Harry woke up to.

"Mr. Potter." It was an unfamiliar voice. As he squinted his eyes a stern face came into his view. "I am glad to see you are awake."

"Wait." Harry groaned. "What… What happened? Where am I?"

"You are in the Infirmary, Mr. Potter." This time Professor McGonagall spoke. "And she is Amelia Bones. The head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement."

"Law Enforcement?" Harry repeated. "Wait Ginny? Luna? Are they alright?"

"Your friends are alright Mr. Potter." Amelia Bones answered. "They came too before you. Madame Pomfrey has given them a sleeping potion and now they are sound asleep. Their beds are adjacent to yours."

With Difficulty, Harry got up and careened his neck. Just as the older witch had said the two girls were sound asleep.

"Now Mr. Potter." Amelia spoke up once again. "If you don't mind, I have some questions I would like to ask you."

"Question?" Harry sat up with his back to the bed post. "What kind of questions?"

"Just a few routine questions Mr. Potter. About the dementors' attack on you."

At Harry's nod, Amelia continued. "What were you doing in the mountains Mr. Potter?"

"Excuse me?" Harry cocked his head. "I don't think that's related."

"Just answer the question Mr. Potter." Amelia Bones stated.

"We were just exploring." Harry answered.

"At the time of the attack, what exactly were you doing?"

"Uhh, we were tired from trekking so we decided to rest inside a cave. There we ate some food and talked a little when we felt a sudden chill. That's when the dementors attacked."

"The Aurors who saved you, reported seeing a light blue dome around you that was keeping the dementors out. Can you tell us what spell did you use?"

"Honestly, I have no idea. I was almost unconscious by that time so I don't know." Harry shrugged his shoulder.

"Are you sure Mr. Potter?" Amelia Bones stared hard at him. "A spell like that could be really useful for the Aurors."

"Why would I try to hide such a thing?" Harry questioned.

"Alright Mr. Potter, can you think of any reason why the dementors would be specifically attracted to your group?"

"Not really." He shrugged.

Amelia stood up. "Well that would be all Mr. Potter. I hope your recovery is fast. Good bye."

Professor McGonagall left with her.

"Not a single difference, Minerva. It is unnerving to watch the children lie so smoothly."

"You still believe something was going on?" questioned McGonagall.

"I have been in Law Enforcement before they were even born. I may have taken up an office job but my instincts are still as sharp as ever. And my instincts tell me that Sirius Black was there."

"Then why wouldn't Harry tell us about him?"

"That is the problem isn't it?" Amelia smiled. "Something fishy is going on."

"Shouldn't you be focusing on the dementors?" Professor McGonagall pursed her lips. "I think they are a more important matter than looking into what three teenagers were doing in the wilderness."

They had reached Professor McGonagall's office by then. Entering, they sat down on chairs.

"I just have a feeling Minerva, the tragedy that occurred in Hogsmeade, those three were at the centre of it."

"They always are." Professor McGonagall lifted the kettle that she always kept brewing. "Tea, Amelia?"

"That would be lovely, thank you."

"Just promise me this Amelia." McGonagall poured tea in two cups carefully. "That you will not let my students be dragged into the mess this is going to become."

Amelia smiled and took the offered cup. "I know you, Minerva and that I can promise you."

….

After Amelia Bones had left the infirmary Remus Lupin entered the room.

"Professor Lupin!" Harry greeted with a smile.

"Please Harry." Remus sat down in the chair beside the bed. "I told you it was Remus when we were alone. How are you feeling?"

"Pretty good." Harry answered. "Madame Pomfrey is just keeping us here as a precautionary measure."

"I heard you three were in the hills when the dementors attacked. Was there a reason you were there?"

Harry just shrugged. "You know, just exploring around the town."

"In the hills. Not to sound stingy but there are plenty of things to see in Hogsmeade. Whose idea was it to explore them?"

"What do you mean whose idea was it? We decided to go there on a whim."

"You know there are rumours that Sirius Black was sighted not far away from Hogsmeade." Remus said seriously. "I am just worried that he might target you."

Harry's body stiffened for a moment which went unnoticed by Remus. "Yeah."

"I saw that you didn't fare well against the dementors at the train too." Remus commented.

"I don't like them." Harry said truthfully. "I just can't figure them out."

"If you want, I can teach you how to defend against them."

"You know the Patronus charm?" Harry exclaimed.

Remus nodded. "It's difficult to learn though. You will need to work hard to be able to cast it, let alone master it."

"I promise we'll work hard to master it." Harry said. "You will teach Ginny and Luna too right?"

Remus remained silent for a moment. "Of course. Now I must get going. You better get your rest or else Madame Pomfrey will have my hide."

"Good bye."

Remus stood up and left the room in deep contemplation. What nagged him was where the three children were found. As far as he was concerned, no students would ever go so far out of town on their first Hogsmeade visit. The town held too many attractions for that. Which raised the question, what were those three doing there? And why would the dementors target them specifically.

His mind was plagued with doubts, thoughts that he would rather not entertain, yet again and again they came to the forefront of his mind.

"Hello Professor."

He was brought out of his musings by a voice greeting him.

"Hello Mr. Longbottom." Remus greeted back. "Off to see your friends?"

The demon smiled internally. He could see the doubts grow inside the mind of werewolf. Maybe just a bit of push was needed. Up his game a little bit. There was no point in giving them any respite.

Neville nodded.

"Well then, be quick about it." Remus said. "Only Harry is awake and Madame Pomfrey might give him a sleeping potion soon too."

"That's a relief." Neville muttered and was about to dart forward when Remus grabbed his hand.

"What do you mean, Mr. Longbottom?"

Neville paled. "N-Nothing." He freed his arm and quickly entered the infirmary, Leaving Remus unsettled.

That night Remus' dreams were plagued by his newfound horrors. He found himself standing in the middle of nowhere. Darkness was encroaching from everywhere, his heart trembling. From the darkness came the howling of the wolves. His heart leapt into his throat and he began running. Fear blinded him and the darkness didn't help either. His feet led him in the endless terrain. The only sounds were that of the howls of approaching wolves and the thumping of his feet against the hard ground.

A slosh and Remus found himself face first in a sticky puddle. His hand came in contact with something soft and warm. As his eyes adjusted to the darkness, to his horror, he found himself staring at a bloodied face. A face he was all too familiar with.

The lifeless green eyes of Harry Potter snapped into focus. His mouth opened and a disturbing voice came out.

"Why Remus?" It was like the voice came from a deep hole. "Why didn't you do anything?"

What was it? Remus wondered, that he could have done.

…..

It was a cold day in November. One would say a normal November afternoon which was chosen for the match between Gryffindor and Slytherin. The fog had yet to dissipate too and Harry could feel the cold seep into his body.

Something bad was going to happen. Harry could feel it. A feeling not helped by his track record. Strange things had always occurred in the first match of the Quidditch season.

He took to the skies not feeling into the game. A few laps were attempted around the pitch to clear his mind but his mood soured when he saw Malfoy tailing him.

He accelerated, Malfoy did the same. He took a sharp dive, Malfoy imitated him. Even though it was obvious he wasn't going after the snitch Malfoy didn't leave him alone.

Feeling irritated, Harry pushed his broom to its maximum. Malfoy's broom was no slouch either. What the rider lacked, the broom made up for it with its newer model and better acceleration.

Two blurs, right behind each other, that's what the spectators saw speeding through the ground. Below them the game raged on.

Slowly Harry changed the course of his broom. So subtle that Malfoy didn't even feel the change. A few more laps and Harry sharply turned his broom upward. A move that Malfoy couldn't replicate and he crashed into the hoops.

Slowing his broom, Harry took a deep breath and focused on the game. Ginny and Luna were wrecking through the Slytherin formation. Alicia wasn't bad either. Oliver didn't even have to move from his spot since the beginning of the game. If it continued like this, even the non-existent seeker of Slytherin couldn't save them. Yet, the feeling of unease remained.

It was when he was about to look away that it happened. Ginny had just stolen the Quaffle from a burly looking Slytherin chaser and was speeding towards the hoop to score another goal. As she raised her hand to throw the Quaffle, it slipped out of her hand.

"GINNY!" Luna's scream echoed through the now silent stadium as she slowly slipped from her broom and started falling. They were at least hundred feet into the air. A fall from this height meant certain death.

Before he knew it, Harry had leaned forward and was speeding down. There was as much distance between him and Ginny as there was between her and the ground. He could never reach her and his broom was the only one good enough to have even a remote chance at saving her.

These things would have crossed his mind if he was thinking, but his mind was blank and his eyes were focused on the limp figure of Ginny falling through the air.

50 feet. The distance between them was closing.

30 feet. Almost there.

10 feet. Horror and misery would describe his emotions perfectly. She was just out of his reach and he knew he would never be able to catch her. His best friend would die right in front of his eyes.

Before his eyes flashed their first meeting. How he felt a connection to that lonely girl in that large family. How her eyes had seemed hopeful when he told her that she wasn't alone.

How happy he was to finally have a friend.

She was his closest ally, his most trusted confidant. The one to cheer him up when he was feeling down. Her hugs were always so warm, her hand so comforting, her smile so pretty, her eyes so deep and beautiful, her hair looked so soft and silky. He couldn't count how many times he had an urge to just run his hand through them. And her freckles, Merlin he just loved to count them.

He could just go on for hours detailing what he loved about her.

He just loved everything about her.

He loved her.

Merlin, he loved her.

Something growled inside him. He wasn't going to let her go just like. Not after what he had just realized.

His feet moved on to his broom and he sprang forward. His vision was filled with red as his arm encircled around his best friend and the girl he just came to realize he loved. Abruptly he turned, bringing her on top of him. The next moment his shoulder crashed into the hard ground, the soft green grass cushioning the blow somewhat. Even then, he could hear a visible snapping sound. His shoulder was dislocated.

"Harry! Ginny!" the first one to land was Luna. She grabbed Ginny and turned her over. Luna grabbed her by her shoulder and shook her but there was no response.

"What happened." Harry lifted himself up with difficulty.

"She is unconscious." Luna turned towards Harry and spoke. He could see waves of concerns in her eyes. "We better get you two to the infirmary."

Harry nodded. How did she lose consciousness? Was it a spell? Or maybe she was sick? Such thoughts were buzzing through his mind with intensity.

"Is everything okay?" Oliver had landed beside them with the whole team just hovering above. Madame Hooch had stopped the match. "I have called Madame Pomfrey. She is coming with Professor McGonagall."

Harry turned to see the two witches hurrying over to them.

"Move." Madame Pomfrey spoke sharply, nudging Luna out of the way. Her wand was in her hand and she started waving it over Ginny's prone body.

Whatever she saw mustn't have been good, Harry decided. She turned towards Professor McGonagall. "We must get her to the infirmary. I can't figure out what happened to her here."

Professor McGonagall nodded. She conjured a stretcher and levitated Ginny onto it.

"Mr. Potter, do you need one too?"

Harry shook his head and stood up albeit shakily. Immediately, Luna moved over and put his unharmed arm around her shoulder.

"Thanks Luna."

The whole Quidditch team followed them to the Infirmary, where Madame Pomfrey shut them out. The only one to remain was Luna and that was because she wouldn't budge from her position.

The first one to get treated was Harry since his injury was minor. In no time, his dislocated shoulder was healed and his arm in a fling.

The difficult one was Ginny. Madame Pomfrey worked on her for more than an hour behind closed curtains. All they could see was her hunched form and her rapidly moving hand. Sometimes her mutterings would leak out, but that was all that reached them.

Finally, the curtains were thrown back and Madame Pomfrey walked out. She looked utterly exhausted."

"Poppy?" It was Professor McGonagall who asked the question first.

She threw a look at the students sitting there and then spoke. "I am sorry Minerva but she is in coma. I would suggest that she is taken to St. Mungo's but I don't reckon they can do much in this case."

"Coma?"

"Is there a chance she will wake up?" Professor McGonagall cut him off.

"I don't know."

"I must inform her parents." Professor McGonagall looked shaken by this news.

"She was flying so superbly you know." Harry whispered. "She was having fun thrashing those Slytherin. She looked so alive. HOW COULD SHE BE IN A COMA?"

"Harry." Luna hugged him tightly, holding him down on the bed. There were tears in her eyes too. "It will be alright. It's Ginny we are talking about. She'll be back with us in no time, okay."

Harry's body shook for a few moments before he laid down. "Thanks Luna."

Luna just smiled.

"Still. She looked absolutely fine to me. How could she be in a coma just like that?" His question was directed at Madame Pomfrey who was looking at them.

"If I had to take a guess, it would be some kind of late acting poison."

"So someone targeted her?" there was an edge of steel to his voice.

Madame Pomfrey nodded. "That is just a speculation though, I couldn't detect any kind of harmful substance inside her body. But she was perfectly healthy too."

Who could have attacked her? Harry wondered. They were hardly separated from each other. At night Luna was with her and they had spent the whole day with their team till then. No one could have spike their food. They were good friends with the House Elves and they wouldn't let anyone touch their food.

"Why don't you take some rest Harry?" Luna said. "I'll go and tell the team what happened."

"Yeah you do that." Harry said. Suddenly, he was feeling pretty tired. He was sure it was one of the potions that Madame Pomfrey had given him.

Luna stayed there till Harry was sound asleep before walking out of the infirmary. As she expected, the whole team was still there, sitting in a line along the wall.

The twins were the first one to react on seeing Luna.

"How is she?" they spoke at once. "She will be alright right?"

There was a little hesitation. "Madame Pomfrey says she is in a coma."

"Coma?" the Twins looked bewildered. "But how?"

"Poison."

The silence around her was suffocating.

"I am sorry but I need some rest." She pushed through the twins and started walking towards the Gryffindor tower.

It wasn't a terribly long walk but it certainly felt like one. After what was ages to Luna but only a few short minutes in reality, she arrived at the Fat Lady's Portrait.

She sat down on the sofa in front of the crackling fire and closed her eyes. She was exhausted and more than a little worried. Her best friend was in a coma. She was sure that the fact hasn't settled in properly yet. Even then, her mind was jumbled and chaotic. She would have liked to spend some time with Harry but he was injured too. She was feeling a bit lonely.

Hearing someone sit down to her side she opened her eyes and turned her head. It was Neville Longbottom.

"Want some company?"

Luna smiled and closed her eyes. "That would be wonderful Neville."

…..

How long has it been since he had a proper conversation with Luna? Harry wondered. Time had gone by in a flash since they had received that terrible news. It was almost Christmas now and Ginny hadn't woken up.

At first, both of them had been diligent in visiting Ginny every day, but as days passed Luna came less and less. In the end, she stopped coming altogether. Not that he didn't understand. It was hard to see their friend like that.

Death loomed over her, and Harry couldn't keep his eyes on her pale face for more than a few seconds. He had lost count of how many times tears had come to his eyes staring at her face. Every time he had wiped those tears with a single thought in his mind. It wouldn't be good for Ginny to wake up and see his eyes rimmed with red.

"Hey Harry." He was startled out of his musings by a voice behind him.

"How are you feeling?" Astoria pulled up a chair and sat down beside Ginny.

"Compared to her, awesome." Harry smiled weakly.

"What did Madame Pomfrey say about her?"

"She isn't recovering at all. I'd say she looks more disappointed with every passing day."

"So not good."

Harry tucked a stray strand behind Ginny's ear.

"Where's Luna?" Astoria looked around the Hospital ward. "I haven't seen her in a while."

"She probably doesn't want to see her laying like this."

"Oh."

"You know." Harry looked up. "When I first came here all I wanted was revenge. Revenge against Voldemort, Revenge against Dumbledore, Revenge against the whole world. It was what drove me. My sole purpose of living." Tears welled up in his eyes. "But now I just want her to wake up."

He took a pause to clear his eyes. "I am just thirteen, y'know but I have come to rely on her so much. I don't know when she started to mean so much to me, but when I saw her falling through the air I knew I couldn't live without her."

He chuckled. "Look at me, talking about loving someone. It all feels so natural though like I was supposed to be in love with her already."

He grabbed Ginny's hand and laid down his head. "It's just that I realized it at the wrong time and now I might never get to tell her about how I feel."

"Don't say that." Astoria spoke up. She moved to where he was sitting and hugged him from behind. "I know she will wake up soon and then you can tell her all about how you feel."

"Really?"

"Yup."

She let him go. "Luna should be here. I know she must be feeling pretty devastated but who else is better to support her than you and you her."

"I don't blame her." Harry shook his head. "Everyone copes with grief in their own way."

"If you say so. I better go and check on her too."

"I would be really grateful if you can do that."

"Don't mention it." Astoria smiled.

"Also." Harry called out just as she was about to exit the Hospital ward. "Thanks for those words. I really needed them."

"Like I said don't mention it."

Carefully, she closed the doors behind her and sighed. Now where could she find Luna?

She didn't know them that well, despite how close she had grown to them in the last three months.

"What are you doing here?" She almost jumped out of her skin at the sound of her sister's voice. As it was she turned towards her with a big smile on her face.

"Hey sis, fancy meeting you here."

Daphne's face contorted in disgust. "You have become quite the cheeky fellow. I might have to discipline you a bit."

She moved forward and hugged her older sister. "We both know you love me too much for that."

"Not enough to not skin you alive if you call me by that horrible nickname again."

"What, sis?" She flashed a grin towards her.

Unamused, Daphne raised her wand.

"Alright alright." Astoria threw her hands up. "Sorry about that."

"As long as you have learnt your lesson." Daphne put her wand back. "So how is Weasley?"

Astoria turned serious. "Not good. At this rate she might."

"Die." Daphne finished her sentence.

"I was going to say never recover from the coma." Astoria glared at her sister.

"Face the reality, either she wakes up or she dies. At least it's better than the other alternative she has available."

"You didn't have to say it so bluntly." Astoria muttered.

"Right. Now if you having nothing else to say to me I have other things to attend to."

"Wait!"

"What?"

"Do you know where Luna might be?"

"How would I know where one of _your _friend is?" Daphne shot back with venom.

"Alright, no need to get angry." Astoria said dejectedly.

"Ugh. Try the Tower next to where Astronomy classes are held. It has a great view. She might not be alone though."

"Not alone?" Astoria repeated. "Who could be with her?"

"She is spending her time with a boy. What was his name? That's odd. I never forget names that easily. Anyway she could be with a boy."

A boy? Astoria could feel a lump forming in her throat. What was this feeling? She wondered, however she shook her head. Harry needed Luna right now more than anything else, her feelings could wait. Not to mention, just hearing about this boy was ringing alarm bells in her mind.

She hurried to where her sister had told her Luna would be. Climbing the stairs, she pushed open the door and came out on the balcony. On the railings, she could see a girl and a boy with his hand draped around her shoulder whispering in her ear.

"Luna?" She called out cautiously.

Luna turned around and her hand involuntarily flew to her mouth. She couldn't believe what she was seeing in front of her. This girl couldn't be Luna. No, not this walking skeleton.

She was paler than Ginny. Her eyes were hidden behind dark circles, her dirty blonde hair were a mess and her skin was hanging from her bones.

"Merlin Luna, are you alright?" She moved towards the older girl, her previous forgotten at seeing the state her best friend was in.

"Tori? Is that you? Me? I am alright. Feeling quite lovely." Her voice was raspy as if she hadn't used it in ages.

What had happened to her? Astoria thought. The Luna she knew was tough and not so easily breakable. Yes, her best friend was in a coma but that could never be enough to put her in this state.

Her eyes moved to the boy standing next to Luna. She was seeing him for the first time and she didn't like him at all.

"You." Her wand was out in a flash. "Get away from her."

"_Don't raise your wand on him." _Luna was in front of her, her eyes glowering. Astoria squeaked and let loose a stunner which impacted Luna squarely on her chest throwing her back, unconscious."

"Sorry." Astoria muttered cradling her head and resting her head against the wall. She stood up and turned towards Neville who was looking at her shrewdly.

"What are you still doing here?" She scowled.

Neville opened her mouth and Astoria felt the hair on the nape of her neck standing up. She could almost see tendrils wrapping around herself.

"STAY AWAY." She yelled as she saw Neville inching forward. "Who. What are you?"

Confusion was replaced by a cruel sneer on Neville's face. "Atta girl. Who are you?"

Instead of Neville, what stood in front of her was a twisted mess of tentacles and smoke. A truly hideous creature. She swallowed a lump in her throat. Her legs were shaking so badly that she could hardly stand. Fear overran all of her senses. She would have run if she wasn't rooted to the spot. Yet, she raised her wand, even though it shivered so hard that she couldn't aim at all. Even then, she refused to abandon her friend like that.

"You certainly don't have the power to sense me." The creature continued. "No one in this castle does. How did you manage to see past my web of illusion?"

His glance fell to her neck and he sighed. "Well, you humans are fond of antiques but don't forget," Astoria's vision was filled with smoke and a large eye staring back at her. "I'll be back for you later."

She was left staring at the blank space in front of her as the smoke vanished. A huge shudder ran through her body before she composed herself. Already what happened felt surreal. Like she was dreaming.

She revived Luna who looked confused.

"Astoria?" She looked around. "Where am I?"

"It's alright." She hugged the older girl. "Merlin, you look like a mess."

Some colour had returned to Luna's face but she still looked weak.

"Do I? must be the Nargles." Luna commented as she sat up. "What happened? And Ginny? How is she?"

"I am here to take you to her but first you must eat and then get some sleep."

Luna placed a hand on her forehead. "I feel like something bad happened to me. My head's throbbing and my heart's heavy for some reason. What happened to me?"

"It must be because of Ginny." Astoria half lied, she didn't want to burden her friend with more worries at this stage. Besides, it would take a lot of courage to talk about what happened just now.

"Ginny. I must go and check on her. It has been a long time since I have seen her of Harry." Luna's eyes were downcast. "He must be worried sick. Is he alright?"

Astoria shook her head. "Not much better than you."

"Then I must see him as soon as I can."

"Yes and you will, but first a meal, a bath and some quality sleep."

"But." Luna protested.

"No buts." Astoria said firmly. "Come on."

Luna nodded exhaustedly and let Astoria get her up. "Let's get you to that elusive kitchen of Hogwarts. First comes a proper meal. You look like a skeleton."

Luna guided her through the corridors till they arrived at the painting of a pear.

"Mistress Lovegood!" a chorus was heard followed by a gasp and then silence when they took her form in.

"Mistress." A house elf came forward looking concerned out of skin. "We knew Mistress Ginny was sick but we didn't expect to see Mistress Luna look like this." His big eyes turned towards Astoria. "Who iz you?"

"Err." Astoria took stock of her surroundings. She felt completely out of place. "I am her friend. Can she get some food? I know it's late and all." She trailed off when she saw the angry look at the elf's face.

"Get some food?" the elf squeaked. "Of course she is getting food. We is never returning anyone hungry."

"Oh, thanks."

The elf snapped his finger and a table was laid out in no time. Soon food was laden on it. Enough food to feed a small army, it seemed to Astoria.

She led the elder girl to the table. She needed some prodding but soon she was gulping down the food with gusto.

"Master and Mistresses are always so kind to us." A voice made her jump. Turning around she found the same elf that she had spoken to at the door. "We don't get many human visitors. It often is lonely with no serve for us. But they come so often and are even kind enough to talk to us. Sometime they just stay so they could talk with us."

"Oh."

"It hurts us to see them like this." The elf's voice was getting raspy. "We tries to heal them but our magic is no match to human magic."

"I am done." Luna's quiet voice came through.

"Hm, alright let's go." She turned towards the elf. "Thanks for the food and sorry for disturbing you so late."

The house elf waved her apologies away. "It is alright Mistress. It is us duty to serves our masters."

By then Luna had come to where they were sitting. "Hello Ropy."

"Mistress." The elf perked up and hugged Luna around her midsection. "You is looking better. We mixed some healing salve with your food."

"Oh really." Luna smiled. "That was so thoughtful of you. "I must get going though." She glanced towards Astoria." Or my friend will get angry."

The house elf shook his head. "Oh don't worry mistress. We understand. You need your rest. We is waiting for Mistress Ginny to get better so that you all comes and visits us together."

Luna gave a wry smile. "We'll be sure to do that."

Astoria took Luna's hand and once again started walking through the corridor till they come to the Fat lady's portrait.

Luna spoke the password but the portrait remained closed.

"What's the matter?" Astoria demanded. "That's the password isn't it?"

The Fat Lady glanced at her. "You aren't from Gryffindor."

"So? There's no rule barring one person to enter another house's dormitory. And don't you see her condition? She needs some rest."

"I have spoken the password." Luna said firmly. "Now you must open unless the password has changed."

The Fat Lady fidgeted but finally gave up as the portrait opened and they climbed inside.

Astoria looked around the common room which was almost empty. It looked so different from her own.

"Astoria, Luna." It was Harry who was sitting in a chair by the fireplace.

"Hey Harry." Astoria smiled.

"Hello Harry."

"Merlin Luna, you look like a mess." Harry raised an eyebrow.

"So I have been told. I suspect it's the Nargles."

"It's all my fault." Harry's shoulder slumped. "I never should have left you alone."

"Hush, it isn't your fault."

"But I knew you will take the news quite hard. I should have comforted you, instead like a selfish person I only thought about myself."

"If that is what you think then I am at fault too. I left you alone while you were grieving too."

"But."

"No buts. What has happened has happened. We must focus on Ginny now. She needs our help more."

"Fine."

"If you two are done arguing," Astoria interrupted. "Then I will take her to bed. She needs her rest."

"Yeah she does." Harry gave Luna a critical glance. "You take care of her."

"I will." Astoria nodded.

She went up the stair and entered Luna's dormitory. Thankfully, everyone was already asleep. She wasn't in the mood to face more questions.

"Take a bath." Astoria whispered, handing Luna a pair of pyjamas that she had fished from her drawer.

Luna nodded and went into the washroom. Astoria plopped down on Luna's bed and waited.

While waiting she looked around Luna's space. She had light blue bed covers and drapes, nothing terribly surprising there. She didn't put Luna as the all pink loving girl anyway. It was neat and tidy, and a sweet fragrance hung in the air."

She inhaled a big whiff and let it out. It was soothing and pleasing. She laid down and closed her eyes.

She didn't know how much time had passed but when she next opened her eyes Luna was sitting on the edge of bed, her wet hair loose around her face. Their sheen and silkiness seemed to have returned for now and her cheeks had some colour to them now.

"Sorry." Astoria got up and smiled embarrassedly.

"Oh no no." Luna grabbed her shoulder and laid her down. "You must be tired too."

"But you need your rest." Astoria protested. "I'll survive till I return to my dormitory."

"Don't go." There was something in Luna's tone that stopped Astoria from replying immediately. "Stay with me tonight?"

She couldn't help but nod to Luna's plea. It wasn't outrageous like sleeping with boy, she reasoned in her mind. She had slept with her sister so many time.

Yet her heart jumped in her mouth as Luna slipped under covers and lifted them from the edge so she could get in. Her hands were sweaty as she pulled them up, her heart beating fast as Luna put her arm around her.

And yet, sleep came to her faster than ever.

…

It was the evening of the next day and all three of them were gathered around Ginny's bed. Looking at her unconscious form forlornly.

"If she wakes up." Harry said suddenly. "The first thing I am going to tell her is how much I love her."

"Is this some kind of self-challenge?" Luna teased. "If this happens then I will do this?"

Harry shrugged and placed his hand atop Ginny's. "I think it has more to do with the fact that I just can't wait around any longer."

"An impatient one aren't you." Luna commented. "Ginny waited for you to realize your feelings for so long though."

"What?" Harry's head jerked before it jerked back to Ginny. She stared at her face before his eyes moved to her hand under his.

"It moved." He whispered.

"What?" Luna and Astoria demanded at once.

But Harry silenced them with a look and moved closer to her face. He stayed there unmoving for a whole minute.

Then they all saw it. Her eyes fluttered open so meekly.

And the next moment, Harry's lips swooped down onto hers and he was kissing her with all of his emotions.

"Well That's one heck of a wakeup call she is getting." Luna commented pouring a glass of water.

Astoria just gave her a bewildered look.

She moved forward gently tapping Harry's shoulder. When he turned around, she showed him the glass of water and motioned towards Ginny who was looking dazed and happy and sick at the same time.

Gently she raised her head and touched the glass to her lip. Sip by sip she made Ginny drink till the whole glass was empty.

"Thanks Luna." Ginny smiled, her voice was raspy probably due to disuse from such a long time. Her eyes moved to Harry and then she blushed when she saw how she was holding his hand.

Luna placed the glass at the table and hugged her head. "We missed you Ginny. We missed you so much." Slowly tears began to fall from her eyes.

Ginny gave a small smile. "I know I missed you too. Both of you."

Astoria stood there looking at the scene with a bit of envy in her heart. She felt uncomfortable. It was when she was about to remove herself when she saw Ginny reach out and grab her hand. She looked up to see her smiling at him.

"I missed you too Tori."

"Yeah me too." Answered Astoria as she pulled up a chair and sat down. All mention of envy and jealousy forgotten.

….


	21. Chapter 21

**A/N: Hello People, Here we are once again and this time I bring you the promised final chapter. I know I am a bit late but this chapter got big on me and I had to cut it down. Still I know excuses. But why let such things get in the way of celebrations it's a big celebration. I mean this story is finally ended and you readers are off the hook. It has been a long road. More than a year and I would like to thank all the readers who read this story and enjoyed it. I do hope you enjoyed it because I enjoyed writing it a lot.**

**Now I have one final request for you people. I know there are lot of loose plotlines, mistakes, and what not in here and I might not have realized all of them. So I would like to ask what was the thing that irked you. What did you think would make the story better. What did I do wrong? It would help me a lot and I would appreciate. This story is under constant revision as I work to get it better and better. So your feedback would really help.**

**Now for the final time. Here you go folk! Enjoy.**

It looked like they had become permanent members of the Hogwarts infirmary, so much time had they been spending in there.

After their emotional reunion, they were ambushed by Madame Pomfrey, who at first proceeded to throw them out while giving them a lecture on proper response to a patient waking before she nagged poor Ginny almost back to coma. In the end, she received rest under the watchful eye of Madame Pomfrey with limited visitors allowed.

When she first regained consciousness, Ginny was quite weak as is expected from someone who had spent two months in a coma. But she had recovered rapidly, reaching full health in just a week. To say Madame Pomfrey was astounded by her progress would be an understatement, but then again she was always wrong when it came to them.

Ginny had been anxious to get out of Infirmary but Madame Pomfrey held true to her reputation. She gave her another week of bed rest. Not that she was going to listen to it. The very next day, she had sneaked out of the Infirmary and surprised Ginny, Luna and Astoria in the Room of Requirement.

Though sneaking out of Infirmary had its disadvantages, which included a full blown reprimand from The Professor McGonagall herself. Never a good thing for your ears. Perfect for giving you psychological trauma though.

It looked like things were once again back on track and more smoothly than ever. Harry had officially confessed to Ginny and it was a memory that could put a smile on their face any day of the week. Unless, one of your friends was lying on a hospital bed bleeding profusely from all over her body.

Astoria had mentioned that she needed to tell them something important. That it was related to Luna's peculiar behaviour during Ginny's coma. But on the mentioned day when she didn't show up at all, the three friends got worried. When they came to the place Marauder's Map was showing her to be, to their horror, they found her covered in blood from head to toe.

Immediately, she was taken to the Hospital Wing. Madame Pomfrey worked on her through the whole night. At one point a team of green robed healers entered the Infirmary. A few hours later, they could hear heated voices flew through the closed doors. Only when the weak rays of a winter noon sun were unsuccessfully trying to beat the cold both inside and outside did they hear any news.

The healer team had left the infirmary some time before and their faces didn't bode well for Harry, Ginny, and Luna. Madame Pomfrey had told them that they had stopped the bleeding for now. That Astoria was on a constant supply of Blood Replenishment Potion. That she was cursed by dark magic unknown to them, yet. that the bleeding could start again anytime.

"The only thing keeping her alive is Hogwarts' magic." That was what Madame Pomfrey had told them. "We are glad for the extended time that we have been offered. In the meantime, I have contacted St. Mungo's. They will look into what kind of magic this is. I have also asked a few healers that I know from other countries to help. But I must warn you, do not expect a recovery any time soon. Rather, you should be prepared for the worst."

Right now, Harry was burning holes in the soles of his shoes by angrily pacing from one wall of the infirmary to the other.

"I swear If I get my hands on him." Harry left his sentence unfinished. "First Ginny and now Tori. I am going to kill that bastard."

"Calm down Harry." It was Ginny who had spoken up. "Pacing to and fro won't help anything."

Begrudgingly Harry sat down.

"You still don't remember anything Luna?" Harry turned his head towards Luna.

Luna just shook her head.

"I bet whatever Tori wanted to tell us was related to Ginny's coma and the condition she is in."

"That's a given." Ginny agreed. "Whoever did this wanted to keep her shut."

"Well he is going to pay for it."

As soon as Harry finished his sentence, the door opened and Dumbledore strode into the infirmary.

"A very good evening to you Mr. Potter, Miss Weasley and Miss Lovegood." He smiled and inclined his head a bit.

Harry, Ginny and Luna just nodded their heads, their eyes fixed on their headmaster.

Dumbledore turned his attention towards Astoria. "My deepest sympathies for the state that your friend is in. It is always heart breaking to see your friend…..like this."

"What do you want, headmaster?" Harry's voice was cold and his stare had turned into a glare.

"Just a few minute with your young friend here. I wish to gather some knowledge as to how she reached this state."

"Is that all?"

"Harry!" Ginny admonished. "I am sorry Professor, but I think Harry is in shock. Seeing as how he had to deal with consecutive severe blow like this."

"Not to worry Miss Weasley." Dumbledore's eyes twinkled madly. "I perfectly understand what Mr. Potter is going through. Now if you will."

"We'll be leaving then Professor." Luna answered as she got up and grabbed the free hand of Harry before dragging him out of Infirmary with Ginny.

As soon as the three students had left the Infirmary Dumbledore turned his attention towards the unconscious Astoria Greengrass. There was not a single bit of kindness or humour in his eyes, only a sharp gleam as he inspected her wounds.

Madame Pomfrey had said that her situation most likely resulted from some kind of curse placed on her. Her wounds, though, looked like claws ripped into her body. So the conclusion should be an easy one. A magical creature.

Few things eluded the vast experience of Albus Dumbledore but this one did. He was truly stumped as to who did this and he didn't like it. He had scoured through books and came up empty. He had sorted through his century old memories and couldn't find anything remotely resembling this situation. And his instinct told him that he must unravel this mystery. Necessary sacrifices or not, he had failed his charges one times too many. These recent attacks felt like the beginning of a carnage that he wouldn't be able to stop.

Could it be? Dumbledore gasped. No it wasn't possible. But there was no other explanation. He must verify it.

On his way out, Dumbledore barely noticed the three teens standing outside. On his mind was the safety of the castle. If his guess was spot on, then a terrible beast had been unleashed.

So fast was Dumbledore walking that he reached his office in a few minutes. Quickly, he spoke the password and entered his office. Like a man possessed, he tapped the portrait behind his chair. A portrait of the four founders. The portrait melted away and in its place stood a doorway. He opened the door and entered this secret room.

The air was stale and full of dust. Dumbledore coughed as soon as he took a breath inside. He waved his hand and immediately the air was replaced by a fresh one with a faintly sweet fragrance. That's just how he liked it.

As far as Dumbledore knew, this room hadn't been opened in almost five centuries. There was never a need for it. This was the heart of Hogwarts. The place where all of its wards were connected. It was like a log book for the wards.

On each side of the room, there was a huge shelf reaching up to the ceiling. Each of these shelves were over flowing with books. So tightly were they placed that it looked like they would burst forth. These books were the physical manifestation of the wards. Each book held the history of a particular ward, like when it was disturbed, who passed through it etc. Understandably so, some books were thicker than others and some wards spanned volumes.

Dumbledore's eyes roamed over these gigantic shelves. Not just any person could read these books let alone know which book belong to which ward. Only the headmaster held that privilege. Even the presence of this room was a closely guarded secret passed down from headmaster to headmaster.

His eyes settled on a thin tattered book. The book was so lean that it could be called a pamphlet. Moving forward he grasped the book and gently pulled it out. Despite being bound by large books on both sides, it came out easily. The book was covered in a thick layer of dust. Dumbledore blew on it, revealing its plain unadorned cover. There was no name written on it, yet Dumbledore knew this was what he was seeking.

With care, Dumbledore opened the last page of the book. That's where the recent entries would be. He held his breath as his eyes skimmed over the few entries written on that page and settled on the last one.

_Ward destroyed. Magical Signature unknown._

To say Dumbledore was shocked would be an understatement. The book fell from his hand as he turned towards the shelf on the opposite. This shelf held books much larger than other. None of the care and attention that he had shown to the thin book was present as Dumbledore nearly yanked out the last book on the shelf. The shelf groaned as if protesting the harsh treatment of the book but even if a banshee was screaming near his ears, Dumbledore wouldn't have heard it.

He slammed the large tome on the lone table in the centre and opened the book from the beginning. It detailed the entries of the student at the beginning of the term. Page after page he turned, a small hope ignited inside him when he didn't found what he was looking for. _Maybe there was a mistake. Maybe the entry was wrong._

But soon all of his hopes were dashed as he came across the entry that he dreaded.

_Unknown magical signature. Cannot be identified._

If that was not enough, right below it was another entry that he didn't think he would see again.

_Magical Signature: Peter Pettigrew. Hogwarts graduate._

He could see it. His perfect world crumbling around him. It took him ten years to put every stone at the proper place and in a span of few months everything had gone to hell. Oh, he knew Sirius was innocent but that Peter Pettigrew survived, he didn't.

He slammed the table in frustration. The table buckled but held. For the first time in a decade, Dumbledore had a headache. He rubbed his temples as he swore. Quickly, he went through the book. Even in the flurry of pages, two entries in red stood out at almost every page.

_Intruder. Magical Signature unknown._

_Intruder. Creature Type: Demon. Caution advised._

His choices were limited. Right now wasn't the time for grand planning. His position as the headmaster came first. He must protect the students of Hogwarts.

He walked out of the room, leaving the books. Bringing out his wand, he almost sent a patronus to Minerva but at the last minute he stopped and lowered his wand. It wouldn't do to cause unnecessary ruckus.

He sat down on his plush chair, sending a message to the gargoyles to not let anyone in. Leaning back, he closed his eyes. Voldemort was the biggest threat that he would face. That's what he thought till yesterday. Now he had a demon to deal with. By not attuning himself deeper with the wards, he had sown the seed of this chaos himself. He was too arrogant back then, trusting in his ability to see past any disguise. Now he was regretting that decision.

_There is no use crying over spilt milk. _Thought Dumbledore. What happened in the past; had happened. Now he must do everything in his power to protect the future. He must focus and harmonize his magic. His self and soul should be in perfect sync. The foe he was going to battle was no ordinary one. To prepare himself, he needed time.

For the first time, since his final battle with Gellert Grindelwald, Dumbledore started gathering his magic.

…

"Is the coast cleared?" Ginny whispered.

"Uhuh." Harry whispered back. "Looks like no one's out on the route tonight."

"It's all your fault." Ginny glared at him. "Getting so angry at Dumbledore. What was the point of that?"

Harry gave a sheepish smile. "Sorry."

Ginny huffed. "Like that would cut it."

"Enough you too." Luna spoke up. "We are neither invisible nor mute."

Having silenced both of them, Luna started moving forward towards their tower.

Ginny too tried to follow but found that Harry was still standing there, fixed to the spot.

"What now?" Ginny asked, irritated.

Instead of answering, Harry pointed to the map. Curious, Ginny moved back to see what he was pointed at. When she saw it, she couldn't help but gasp.

"Pettigrew."

Harry nodded. "This seems like a golden chance to catch him. Who knows when he'll come out of that room again."

"You are right let's go."

From the map, it looked like Pettigrew was rushing towards the Entrance Hall. Knowing where he was going, made it easier for them to intercept him. They took a shortcut and soon they found themselves waiting in the Entrance Hall hidden behind a tapestry.

"How are we going to catch him?" Harry whispered. "It's dark and more than likely he is in his animagus form."

"We'll set a trap by the main doors." Luna answered. "As soon as he will try to sneak from below the door he'll get caught."

"A sticking charm, across the width of the door, right in front of it. Brilliant Luna!" Ginny clapped her hand in excitement.

"Sounds good." Harry answered.

Just as they were about to finish up Harry glanced at the map. "Hurry, he is almost here."

Quickly, they put a few finishing touches before moving behind the tapestry.

They had just settled behind the tapestry when they heard a minute tapering. Few seconds later, quiet squeaking could be heard. They rushed to the front doors and found themselves staring at a rat struggling to break the sticking charm.

"Hello Wormtail." Harry whispered with venom. His wand flicked and small ropes tied themselves around the rat. Pettigrew struggled even further but to no avail. Such fear was evident in his eyes that they were afraid he might die from heart attack.

Roughly grabbing the mouse, Harry disabled the sticking charm. Pettigrew tried to bit him off but Harry was too smart for him.

"Now what?" Harry asked, glaring at the struggling mouse.

"We could take him to Professor McGonagall, she will listen to us." Ginny suggested.

"And skewer us alive for being out so late." Harry added.

"Well, if you want to sleep with the rat." Ginny left the sentence unfinished.

"Fine, Fine. Let's go to Professor McGonagall."

From where they were, it took them some time to reach Professor McGonagall's quarter but eventually they reached there.

"After you." Ginny bowed and gave a mischievous smile.

Harry just glared at her and knocked at the door.

They had to knock a few times before the door was opened. A wait they expected since it was almost two in the morning.

"What in the merlin's name are you three doing?" The voice was stern enough to put cracks in rocks. Like seeing her out of her usual attire wouldn't have put them in shock already.

"Well speak. Or should I just give you a month of detention?"

"Ugh Sorry Professor." Harry shook his head. "We caught an intruder in the castle."

"An intruder?" Professor McGonagall almost shrieked. "Where is it?"

Harry lifted the hand with the struggling rat.

"A mouse? Mr. Potter I knew you were a troublemaker but this is crossing a line. How can a mouse be an intruder? Stop playing games and go to sleep. I'll deal with your punishment in the morning."

Professor McGonagall was about to close the door but Harry barred her way.

"Peter Pettigrew."

The name was enough to stop Professor McGonagall's movement.

"What?"

"Peter Pettigrew killed my parents." The rat started struggling even further. Trying to get out of its captor grasp.

"What nonsense are you babbling on about? Have you been drinking? Mr. Potter Merlin help me, no matter how distinguished a student you are, if I found out that you have been."

"He is an animagus."

"What?" Professor McGonagall seemed at a loss of word. "But he is not registered in the ministry."

"I know there's a spell to reveal an animagus. It can solve this problem very easily."

Professor McGonagall considered his offer for a moment. She moved out of the doorway indicating them to come in.

"Very well. But if this is a prank then." McGonagall left her sentenced unfinished.

Harry wished she had finished her sentence. It was bone chilling not knowing what she would do to them if this rat somehow didn't turn out to be Wormtail.

She picked up her wand lying on the table. "Put him on the desk, Mr. Potter."

"He will try to get away Professor."

"Don't worry. I'll make sure he won't get away."

As soon as Harry placed the rat on the desk, it tried to run away but the spell that came was much faster and the next moment a bound pressing was laying on the desk face down, whimpering.

"Oh Merlin!" Professor McGonagall gasped, her wand clattering to the floor. "It is Pettigrew."

For a whole minute there was silence, all of them stood waiting for the shocked professor to speak up.

"I'll have to inform Amelia."

What followed was a whirlwind of event. Professor McGonagall threw floo powder in her fireplace calling the Bones estate. A very haggard Amelia Bones answered. They discussed something hurriedly and in fifteen minutes she was here with a contingent of Aurors.

Needless to say, Peter Pettigrew was put under arrest. The man was so freaked out that he unknowingly confessed his own crimes without the aid of Veritaserum, keeping on repeating that the dark lord made him do it. That he didn't want to betray the Potters but the Dark Lord was too strong.

The next morning newspaper included a special edition. The headline read.

_SIRIUS BLACK INNOCENT. PETER PETTIGREW FOUND ALIVE._

A trial was held in the next few days, the minister tried his best to postpone the trial but it was under too much scrutiny to not happen. And when it did happen, he threw his whole weight behind Sirius Black claiming that he always was suspicious of Sirius' role in the murder of Potters.

Needless to say, Sirius Black was freed. Not only freed, but as a remittance for unjust imprisonment the ministry had to pay him a hefty sum of One Million galleons. It wouldn't have been this much but Azkaban held its perks.

The first thing that Sirius did after being officially released was to pay Harry a visit in Hogwart. He also stopped by to check in their injured friend which he hadn't met yet.

While all this was going on, a certain person never made an appearance. A person whose name had appeared a lot of time during the trial of Peter Pettigrew. Albus Dumbledore was missing. His office was locked and no one seemed able to access it.

What had happened to the old headmaster soon became awfully clear. It was Hagrid who had discovered it first. The mauled and deformed body of the greatest wizard of Britain.

Albus Dumbledore was dead, killed by someone and no one seemed to know what had happened.

The atmosphere in Hogwarts had turned fearful. People grew mistrusting of each other. Hatred and suspicions flew like water spewing forth from a rock. Parents starting drawing out their children and those who remained constantly looked at each other with fear and distrust. The atmosphere had become suffocating.

A funeral was held for Albus Dumbledore a few days later on Hogwarts ground. A great many people came to pay their respect. They also included Harry, Ginny, Luna, and Sirius Black. No matter their personal differences, a great man had died. A man who had influenced the magical society of Great Britain for decades, for better or worse? they didn't know.

Amidst all this, Astoria's condition deteriorated. At first she was only unconscious, but now she would wake up only to scream herself to oblivion. Madame Pomfrey said that she was under extreme pain. That it was like someone was touching all of her nerve endings with hot knives at once.

And just like that, three months passed and April came. And that's when they found a note attached to Astoria's chest one morning when they came to pay her a visit. A note addressed to them in flowery handwriting.

_If you wish to save your precious friend, then come to the forbidden forest. I shall be waiting._

_The attacker._

….

The clearing felt ominous and reeked of terrible powers. Every breath that they took choked them, a strange chill made the hair on the back of their neck stand up. It was difficult to just move their muscle. And they were here to fight against the one who assaulted Astoria.

Their wands were ready, their eyes wide open, their ears listening to even the minute sounds.

"Ah, welcome, welcome." As focused as they were, they jumped as a voice came from behind them. Turning around they found themselves face to face with an unknown man leaning against the tree, smirking.

"Who are you?" Harry asked bewildered. He had never seen the man.

"Startled by my new appearance." The man smiled. "Perhaps you will remember this face." With that the man started morphing. His hair turned brown, his body became a bit chubby. His eyes turned blue.

"Neville?" Luna gasped.

"Correct. But not quite. I don't think poor Neville is even alive. I just took his place."

"You mean you killed him. Whatever you are."

The man sighed. "I guess it would better to lift my magic than to explain it to you." He snapped his fingers.

It was like a fog had lifted from their brains and the deception that they had been subjected to throughout the year became imminently clear.

"As to answer your question. You might know me as a demon. Quite a cool name. It just reeks of blood don't you think?"

Their only answer was to crane their neck and stare at the person.

"Why doesn't that surprise me?"

But before he could finish his sentence, Harry jabbed his wand and a curse flew towards the demon. A curse that he swatted away easily.

"No need to be so hasty. Believe me when I say this. I want to kill you more than I." His voice had turned menacing by the end. "I want to snap those pretty necks of yours, watch as life fades from your eyes, but no. I won't do that."

His human features started fading away, revealing a grotesque mass of twisted limbs and coarse dark fluids that left a trail on the ground as he circled around them.

"Doesn't feel good does it?" even his voice had changed, lower in pitch, soothing yet chilly. "This hellish air. It kills you every time you breath it in, doesn't it? Looks like I have the advantage of home pitch."

Ginny scoffed, though the fear was evident in her eyes. Their limbs were shaking. They felt like unseen shadows were stretching out to them, choking them. They were in no shape to fight. Their enemy had overpowered them wholly.

But in front of their eyes was the face of Astoria, in their heart the guilt that they felt for dragging her to her death, in their ears rung her painful screams when she was awake and their minds replayed that conversation that they had with Daphne.

"_I hate you. All three of you." Daphne sat on the edge of the bed. Her sister's bruised hand she held to her chest. "But more than that I hate myself."_

"_Our parents, they don't like her much. You can say she doesn't hold to their beliefs. Questioning everything from why the elves should be treated like that to why she should wear frilly dresses." A small smile played on her lips even as her eyes held unshed tears, remembering the days past she cupped on her younger sister's cheek. "She's a brat. So cheeky and mischievous. She annoys me so much but she's my little sister."_

_She placed her other hand on her chest. "I don't know where this feeling comes from. I just want to protect her. I wanted her to never stop smiling, so I did what I could. If she failed at something I excelled at it enough to make up for both of us. If she didn't meet our parents' expectations, I exceeded them. Soon enough, they stopped paying her any attention and I thought it was okay. That I was more than enough for her. That I would be able to protect from anything and everything._

_Her shoulder started shaking. "Do you know this feeling of helplessness? The one that you love more than your life is lying dying and you can't do anything. Even tears don't come easily for me. I lost them so that she could smile and now the only thing I hear from her mouth are those painful screams."_

_Slowly she laid down on top of Astoria, hiccups shaking her whole body. "I hate you three. It's because of you that she is like this. But she is dying." The tears had become unmistakeable in her voice. "I DON'T EVEN KNOW HOW TO BEG GOD FOR HER LIFE." The scream was heart wrenching; her hands had curled into small fists. "I DON'T KNOW HOW TO BEG." The voice dropped in pitch. "I only know how to bargain, how to lick up, how to intimidate." Once again she screamed. "BUT WHAT SHOULD I BARGAIN FOR HER LIFE, WHO SHOULD I FLATTER? WHO CAN I THREATEN SO THEY CAN GIVE ME BACK MY SISTER?"_

_Harry's hand was clenched so tight that he could feel his fingernails digging into his flesh. This pain was the only thing that stopped him from breaking down. As his eyes darted to the side, he saw a figure in a darkened corner of the Infirmary. Madame Pomfrey. It was dark so he couldn't see properly but he thought she was crying, her teeth biting down on her lips so hard that it could have drawn blood. It was a scene he couldn't have tolerated so he turned his eyes back to Daphne._

_She got up, wiping her eyes with the sleeves of her robe and turned towards them. "So I'll place my trust where she placed hers. You." She pointed towards them. "Made her livelier than ever. I haven't seen her this full of joy since she was this little." She placed her hand at bed height, indicating her age. "So I'll ask you. No, I beg of you. Save her."_

_Once again tears spilled forth from her eyes. With her trembling hands she reached out and grabbed Ginny's robe, the one closest to her, and placed her head against her body. "You are the Three Prodigies aren't you? The Geniuses of our generation. You can do anything. Please save her."_

_That was the first time Harry saw Ginny unable to comfort someone else. How could she when she was broken herself._

They didn't have a choice, even if they had to sacrifice their life. They had to save Astoria.

"Ginny, Luna you two are on defence. I'll attack."

They took their stance as the demon took a humanoid shape again.

"Fine. Have it your way."

A light blue shield snapped around the three as Harry jabbed his wand forward. A purple coloured hex flew towards the demon but once again he deflected it with ease.

"My turn."

The explosion was instantaneous, blowing their shield to smithereens. The shockwave threw them backwards and they slammed into the trees, sliding down like lifeless bags.

"Hopes that doesn't scare you away. Fun is only beginning."

With difficulty, Harry got up. Already his limbs were aching and pain was building up inside him. It was just now that he actually realized that their death was actually on the cards.

He looked to his side to see Ginny and Luna slowly getting. Luna wiped a bit of blood from her mouth while Ginny gently cradled her head. One attack. That's all it took him to put them in this shape.

His speed hadn't decreased though. Like Lightning he fired a spell towards the demon. The demon smiled and prepared to send it away once again but the spell never reached him. Instead it impacted on the ground sending razor sharp rocks flying faster than the speed of sound. Needless to say, the demon was taken by surprise.

When the dust from the spell had cleared, Harry and the girls saw the demon embedded with rocks all over with a few twigs mixed in between. A look of anger and contempt was on his face.

"Innovation huh? Not bad." The demon spat out. "It's my turn now."

A blue orb came towards them but it's path was intercepted by a large rock that Ginny had summoned. The rock was blown to tiny pieces which impacted the shield that Luna had erected. Even though the spell had been taken care of, the projectiles had enough energy left to leave cracks all over the shield.

"Much better." Harry whispered. "Now we must press."

He pulled his wand back but this time the demon was alert and he easily escaped the flying log that came from behind.

"Tsk, tsk." He clucked his tongue. "The same thing won't work twice."

But Harry just smiled as the earth erupted and a large blade ripped through the leg of the demon. The demon howled in agony before he angrily swiped his hand destroying the blade and the land around it.

The anger was palpable on the demon's face as he slowly healed his injuries. "Fucking bastard. Play time is over."

But they weren't patiently waiting for him to recover either. While Harry was busy riling up the demon, they knew this tactic would only anger him, Ginny and Luna had abandoned defence and focused on bringing their magic in harmony. If they had a shot at defeating the demon, it would be with this spell and nothing else.

As the demon prepared to attack on his own, they brought their wand down. Just like in the Room of Requirement, a large white orb came speeding down. It was much larger than the one that they had used back then, even without the aid of Room of Requirement.

The demon had no idea what was going on till the last second, as he felt the searing energy of the white orb. But by then it was too late. With a huge explosion and a heart stopping cry the orb crashed into the demon. The shockwave was strong enough to throw them backwards.

Slowly, Harry and the girls pulled themselves up from the ground, waiting for the dust to settle. If this hadn't destroyed the demon than they didn't know what would.

As the smog was cleared, to their shock and horror, they saw the demon still standing there. Half of his body was gone and the other half was twisted horribly. Blood was spurting from him in large arc and his remaining eye was blood red.

"You filthy humans." His voice showed his barely restrained fury. "How dare you! HOW DARE YOU!"

"Gotta keep going." Harry whispered, raising his wand and firing a blasting hex.

Ginny and Luna followed suit, albeit their spells were a lot slower, the previous spell having drained out all of their energy.

They exhausted their arsenal, throwing everything they has at the demon. The demon healed but they chipped away at him faster. His previous speed had been lost. In fact, he wasn't moving at all, standing at one place, screaming and yelling obscenities at them but they paid him no mind and slowly but surely reduced him to dust.

Only once that all that was left of the demon was the blood splattered everywhere did they stop. Harry's wand slipped out of his hand and he fell to his knees barely conscious. Ginny and Luna were faring even worse, having already fallen unconscious.

As he tried to regain his breath, he heard a cackling laughter that froze his blood. His heart almost jumped to his throat as he saw small little dots coalescing. Slowly, they took a gruesome shape.

"Have had your fill have you?" The demon had taken the shape of a deformed creature. To be honest, it was getting annoying keep up with all the shapeshifting that was going for Harry.

But the demon's shapeshifting was the least of his worries as he could almost see the magic building around the demon. The demon growled and three wispy tentacles like things come out of him.

Even if he wanted to, Harry had no strength left to resist. Like a bullet, the tentacles ripped through his shoulder and there was no way he could have muffled the screaming that ensued.

The tables had turned now and the demon took great delight in poking holes through their body while listening to their horrific screams.

The demon circled them, like a hunter stalking its prey. A maddening cackle would escape its lips while occasionally ripping their bodies.

Yet they continued to stand up, at least they tried. Their limbs flailing wildly all over as blood gurgled from their mouth. To say that they had never been this close to death wouldn't be wrong.

But the demon made sure that they didn't die, choosing to prolong their misery for his perverse pleasure.

"Fucking humans." The demon spat out. "Think you are so high and mighty. You seriously believe the world revolve around you." He kept on moving around them his eyes fixed on the three teens trying to get up once again. Loosely they held their wands in their hand having no strength to grip them even further. Blood poured from all over their body but they didn't stop struggling. "You thought you could hold a demon? You are my prey." His voice drop to a whisper. "Now be a nice little fodder and play along."

Once again the demon struck them down. As they fell he starting laughing again. "A thousand years. That's how long I have waited for this. In that accursed space, not even allowed a single coherent thought. The thought that humans had captured me, that mere tiny measly humans had wiped out our race was torture enough. YOU ARE NOTHING. NOTHING BUT A FUCKING BUG. A PLAYTOY FOR US." His whips reached out encircling them and choking them. Blood spluttered from their mouth and nose. They flailed around trying to get away from its deathly clutch. But the demon didn't let them go. His eyes had gone cross from madness.

"WHY WON'T YOU LIE DOWN." The demon roared and flung them across the clearing like they plastic dolls.

Bloodied and broken. The consciousness faded from their mind.

"Spending thousand years like that isn't easy, but I guess It is time to take some revenge."

The demon turned towards them ready to deal the finishing blow. But then he stopped, his head cocking to a side.

Blue spots started appearing on their skins. Spots that quickly changed to lines that were crisscrossing each other. Blood started flowing back and their wounds started healing.

"What Sorcery is this?"

As the flesh knit itself, they started to standing up. Their eyes were crossed and glowing red. The blue lines had started to make a pattern.

"No, No, NO, NO, NO." The demon screamed. "NOT THAT. ANYTHING BUT THAT."

He started stalking them. The lines had started moving their outstretched hand, merging.

"So be it. I am going to have my even if it's him interfering."

The demon moved fast but the attack was faster. A bright flash of light and it was sent flying backwards.

The lines faded from the bodies of Harry and the girls and they fell down. It was around half an hour later that they got up groaning. Their heads were ringing and they could feel the worst headache of their life coming.

"What's going on?" Harry grabbed his temple and asked slowly.

His question was followed by a weak laugh.

Slowly, he opened his eyes and looked forward. He couldn't believe what he saw. The demon was lying a few feet in front of them, covered in his own blood panting.

"That's unfair, you know. I never knew you had such…connections."

Harry stood up and approached the demon. His headache had started fading and he could feel his strength returning. Not just his old strength. It felt like he would implode from this much power. His hands were buzzing and his heart was beating fast.

"What happened?" He stared at his hand and cast a look over his body seeing none of the wounds that should be there. "What is this? How am I so strong?"

"You mean you don't know." The demon asked incredulously.

"Know what?" Harry demanded. "Tell me what happened. Did I. Did we do this to you?"

The demon started laughing. A laugh that got louder with time. He cackled till he started choking on his own blood.

"How could you not know? For a species with such fondness for the past you sure forget your nightmares easily."

"What nonsense are you spewing?" Harry screamed. "Tell me what happened."

"Harry?" Ginny and Luna too had woken up and now stood just a few yard away from them.

"I do not have the right to tell you what you do not know. At least in this case." The demon answered. "All that matter is that you defeated me fair and square."

He stood up on shaky legs. It took him a few minutes but he managed it in the end. He stared them in the eyes, his dimming red eyes glaring and then slowly he bowed his head.

"If I had known." That's all the demon managed before he collapsed coughing blood once again.

"Tell me." Harry asked hastily fearing the demon would die before telling them the cure. "How do we cure Astoria?"

"Your young friend?" The demon opened his eyes that had half closed. "It was my blood that tainted her and through my blood will she be cured."

"Your blood? Is that all?"

"Don't underestimate the power of a demon, you brat. We ruled a whole realm. After magic is different, powered by otherworldly forces. It is infused in us completely. The whole body of a demon is an invaluable resource of power for you human wizards. The death and destruction that one can unleash is terrible. But that's not all we are capable of. Our blood can cure anything."

The demon started coughing again. It seemed as the time passed he grew weaker.

"After I am gone my race would be extinct." The demon spoke once again. This time much slower. "But in a way I don't mind it. I think this death is befitting for my race. Death by his hand."

"Who is he?" Luna asked.

"Someone you would know very soon." The demon started cackling once again. "I think I actually pity you. You are just humans. I think I remember now. An ancient Prophecy that spoke of this. A Prophecy that heralded the awakening and the changing of the world. Is it that time already?" The demon seemed to be talking to himself. "A quest unfinished. Vengeance. Betrayal. Duty. Greed. Desperation." The demon's eyes started closing once again as he said broken words that they couldn't understand.

"Just tell us who are you talking about." Ginny asked slowly.

"Me?" The demon opened his eyes a bit. "Who could I be talking about? Just one of the few that us demon feared. He is the final guardian. The last protector of this Earth."

With his final breath the demon spoke his name. "Remember it. I am called Hi-La. The demon of fear."

And thus, the bright red eyes of the demon turned black completely. He was dead.

"Hi-La. The demon of fear." Harry muttered as he spoke. "I will never forget that name even if I wanted to."

"Neither will we. Now let's get back to the castle. We must get the cure to Astoria as soon as possible."

As they left the clearing, they couldn't help but take a look back at the rapidly rotting corpse of the demon. He was a foe that they could never hope to beat and yet someone did. Someone who dwarfed the terrible demon.

There was only one thought on their mind. Just how powerful was this guardian?

…..

The rocking of the cabin as the train sped forward was anything but soothing. The rapid changing scenery, instead to calm them down, made them feel nauseous. Never before had their compartment been so silent. Each of them was lost in their own thought. It had been a few months since the demon was defeated but even now the battle weighed heavily on their mind. And why not? Battles are eventful but not that eventful.

But that wasn't the only thing on their mind. On the berth that Harry sat, a few feet across from him laid The Daily Prophet. Its headline read.

_HOGWARTS TO BE CLOSED AT THE YEAR'S END_

_In a rather unsurprising move, Minister for Magic Cornelius Fudge announced yesterday that the Wizengamot has unanimously agreed to close down one of the most prodigious school in Europe, deeming it to be "unsafe and dangerous for the children."_

_Speaking to the press outside his office, The Minister also added that temporary measures had already been taken to ensure that none of the students miss out on any education beginning next academic year. In that regard, British Ministry for Magic had contacted several prestigious schools throughout Europe who had agreed to take in the students of Hogwarts. He further added that The Ministry has already started working on building a new school to provide the necessary magical training to young wizards and witches._

_The move came after a recent string of attacks on The-Boy-Who-Lived and his friend was leaked to the media which led to a wide range protests among the parents. These type of attacks weren't unprecedented either. Last year, several of the students lost their lives to such attacks at the end of which the now deceased headmaster Albus Dumbledore announced that the problem had been taken care of._

_In the recent days, Ministry had been under severe scrutiny after it was found out that Sirius Black had been wrongfully imprisoned for thirteen years in Azkaban. It is to be noted that the real culprit, Peter Pettigrew, hid himself in Hogwarts for ten years and remained unnoticed which also led several people to question the security around the prodigious school. It is the belief, that these events contributed largely to the hastened decision of closing down Hogwarts._

_Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry was built around 990 A.D. and had continued to serve the need of Great Britain by providing several Talented Wizards and Witches._

The compartment door opened but none of them spoke up. Ginny got up and moved towards Harry while Astoria took her place.

The silence continued for a few more minutes, none of them spoke up or even greeted the newcomer. Finally, she couldn't take it anymore.

"So what now?" Astoria blurted out.

Harry sighed, he had noticed he had been doing this a lot recently, a small smile creeped on his face as he felt Ginny's hand on his. Overturning his hand, he grasped hers softly, giving it a small squeeze.

"Honestly, I don't know."

The demon hadn't lied, at least not with its dying breath. With its blood Astoria had recovered magnificently, all of her wounds healed in a day. Madame Pomfrey had no idea what had happened and it drove her crazy. They did feel a bit guilty keeping it a secret from her but they knew that a thing like this could be dangerous in the wrong hand. Even now, the vial was carefully stashed in Harry's trunk.

After she had woken up, they had apologized to her profusely but she had waved them away and told them to not pay any heed to such trivial matter and if they were really feeling guilty then just teach her everything they know.

It was a hard decision. They knew that it was because of them that she reached such a state and here she was asking to actively join them? In the end she worn them down and they agreed.

"You mean you won't teach me?"

"Wait what?" Harry looked up bewildered. "Is that what you were asking about?"

"Uhuh. Hogwarts has been closed now so how am I going to meet you people?" There was a note of disappointment in her voice.

Harry couldn't help but laugh. "Is that what have been worrying you? Don't worry you can come meet us where I am going to live."

"Really." Astoria sounded really excited. "You sure it's not going to be a problem."

"Nope. I talked to Sirius and he has already given permission to invite as many of my friends as I could. Ginny is going to live with us mostly, Mr. Weasley has already given her permission and Luna's going to spend most of the time with us too. I guess a few people will drop too occasionally. So yeah it is alright for you to come visit us. You can live with us too for a few weeks. From Sirius' description the house sounded pretty big."

"That sounds cool." Astoria said enthusiastically.

The mood had lightened considerably in the compartment and they had started chattering among themselves, starting to enjoy what they knew was their last train ride.

"Seriously though, what will happen now?" This time it was Ginny who had asked the question.

Once again silence descended on the compartment. It was a question they didn't want to face.

"We have been training as hard as we can for the last three years." Harry spoke up. "And I thought we were going pretty good. I thought we might even stand a chance against Voldemort by now." He gave a self-deprecating smile. "I guess I was wrong."

"The demon. He just toyed with us. Only making us think that we can win when in reality we stood no chance." He clenched his fists tightly. "If that's what three years of years get you then." He just shook his head.

"Isn't it still too early to give up." Astoria said.

"We aren't giving up. It's just heart breaking to see so much of your effort go down the gutter. And if what he said is true then."

"Then you need to work harder." Astoria spoke with determination. "And need to add a certain girl in your plans."

Harry chuckled. "Alright alright, we already decided to include you, didn't we?"

"That's good."

What Astoria said was true, Harry realized. He was focusing too much on what would be then what was now. True, the demon might have squandered them in combat and it was stupid to think they could stand a chance against Voldemort, but how many thirteen-year-old can boost going toe to toe with Voldemort, a basilisk, and a demon and still live. They may not have reached their goal but they were certainly on the right path.

Closing of Hogwarts didn't just spell the end of a prestigious institute, it also indicated the beginning of a new adventure for them. No longer bound by secrecy and rules, and with a supporting home they were free to pursue their interest however they like.

True it meant venturing into the unknown but as he took a look around he couldn't help but think that the unknown wasn't so bad. As long as he had such good friends.

"Hey." Ginny whispered, squeezing his hand. "A knut for you thought?"

Harry gave her a dazzling smile. "Nahh. I just realized how amazing you people are."

Soon they had reached Platform Nine and Three-quarters and all of them went on separate ways at least for now.

They could feel it. Their lives were at a turning point. And yet there was no fear in them. No longer were there Dursleys to contend. No longer would a crazy mother harass you. No longer would you find yourself subjected to disappointed gazes of your parents.

This new era, it felt good. At least it had a good beginning.

They knew Voldemort was still out there and they knew the hardships that they had faced till now were nothing to what was to come. The demon had told them that much.

But when your hearts are woven together like this, does it really matter how strong an obstacle stands in your way?

How strong, and big, and large your enemy is?

What difficulty you face?

The world will try to rip you apart, will try to discourage you, will try to destroy you, annihilate you and demotivate you but as long as you have friend that you cherish and friends that care about you. Does it really matter in end?

What matters is whether they will stand up again after they had been knocked. Whether they will take the flag once again and fight. Fight till there is nothing left in them.

That's what they had realized during that train ride. That's what the eleven-year-old had taught them.

They had gotten up once again, after the demon had knocked them down so hard.

And they will continue to do so, till they had died or achieved their goal.

It doesn't matter who knock them.

Voldemort, Dumbledore, World or the demon, it mattered not.

Because they will get up once again.

Because they loved each other.

…..

**A/N: The demon name. I don't know whether they are the right spelling. It's an Arabic word which means Phobia.**


End file.
